And Wonder Woman Took Off Her Mask
by Robinpoppins
Summary: What would happen if Luke and Lorelai mended their friendship the night of Sookie’s wedding? JJ. COMPLETED!
1. Always a Bridesmaid

**And Wonder Woman Took Off Her Mask**

**Summery:** What would happen if Luke and Lorelai mended the friendship the night of Sookie's wedding? Here's one interpretation…

**Disclaimer:** I own all the DVDs, the CD, a coffee mug, a Yale sweatshirt, a tote bag, and some songs from the show on iTunes, but the genius of Gilmore Girls belongs to Amy Sherman Palladino and not to me. 

**Chapter 1: Always a Bridesmaid…**

The diner bells jingled, breaking the silence of the empty room. Luke had his back to the door, cleaning out the toaster, performing his nightly closing routine. "We're closed," came his automatic response, nearly echoing in the dark room. He wasn't in the mood to cook. He wasn't in the mood to make conversation with some lone customer. Hell, he had just finished cleaning the grill. He felt drained. Too much stress.

The customer didn't make an effort to move. That's when it hit him; It was her. He picked up the rag and tried make an effort to turn around and face her. He was still angry. He knew he shouldn't be, but he couldn't help it. She had questioned everything in that argument. Her bitter and sarcastic tone blamed him for the accident because Jess lived with him and accused him of not caring about Rory. He couldn't shake the thought that, by default, she had accused him of not caring for her. That pissed him off more then anything. Made him want to shake his fist in her face and yell "How dare you!" But, he could not do that to her. It was Lorelai, after all.

His mind was reeling with a million thoughts at once. It seemed like he had been making the move to face her for hours, when it had merely been a few seconds.

The sound of Lorelai's voice jolted him out of his mental sanctuary:

"I know you're probably still mad at me, and frankly, you aren't my favorite person in the world right now, but I had a shitty day. My head is staring to throb and they stopped giving me drinks at the wedding. We don't need to make up or forgive each other or anything, but I really need a cup of coffee"

Luke finally turned to take in the full view. Lorelai was still dressed for the wedding. Her hair was straight and the teal color of the dress made her eyes stand out in a way he had never seen before. However, among the beautiful assets of Lorelai's appearance, her face was pale, her eyes were bloodshot, and the corners of her mouth were turned down in a frown. Luke pushed away the thoughts of her beauty and his natural instinct was concern. He cared about her, no matter what status their friendship was currently in. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but he knew she would fight before giving Luke the satisfaction of seeing her cry again. When he realized that he was still looking at her he willed words to come out of his mouth.

"Coming right up."

Luke let his mind run on auto-pilot as he started to make coffee. He had done this a million times. It was routine, like wiping down the tables, cooking hamburgers, and cleaning the grill. It was amazing how tense the air in the room had gotten in a matter of seconds. He spooned coffee on to the filter.

"More," She pleaded, breaking the silenced once again.

"Not everyone likes it that strong."

"Do you see anyone else around?" She mocked, accenting and elongating the word 'see.' The brought a slight grin to his face, but he instantly scolded himself. They were fighting. Good thing his back was still turned.

"I'm not makin' it any stronger."

"It's not like you're drinking it. Please, Luke."

That did him in. She always got her way with him. He still wasn't sure why she was the only one who could. His mind went back to an earlier realization. He cared for her. Suddenly, Rachel's final departure consumed his thoughts.

_LUKE: Then what is it? Is there another guy? _

_RACHEL: No. _

_LUKE: Then what? _

_RACHEL: It's another girl. _

_LUKE: What? You telling me you're. . . _

_RACHEL: The other girl isn't for me Luke, it's for you. _

_LUKE: Okay. Now that's crazy. _

_RACHEL: Yeah? _

_LUKE: Yeah. _

_RACHEL: No. _

_LUKE: You feel you need a different excuse this time to mix things up a little, fine. But you are not leaving because of me. _

_RACHEL: I'm sure you tried Luke. But admit it, you're heart wasn't in it. _

_LUKE: My heart was in it. I was here, I didn't leave. . . .I don't get this. _

_RACHEL: Luke. _

_LUKE: And what are you talking about, another girl. What other girl? Oh Rachel, no, you don't mean. . . She and I are just friends. I told you that a thousand times. _

_RACHEL: No. You told it to me once. And you could barely get it out then. _

_LUKE: Okay, this is crazy. You've got it wrong here. It's not. . .She and I are. . .uh. . . _

_RACHEL: I'm gonna go. I'll miss you. Stay in touch. _

_LUKE: Rachel, come on. _

_Rachel walked to the door and stopped. She turned around to look at Luke. _

_RACHEL: So don't wait too long okay. _

_LUKE: To what? _

_RACHEL: To tell her._

He hadn't allowed himself to ponder Rachel and her advice for awhile now. Luke couldn't help but think _Maybe Rachel was wrong. I don't have to tell Lorelai how I feel because that implies that I do have feelings for her. And, I don't! She hurt me by all her accusations, but that does not mean that I like her. Yes, I like Lorelai. She's my friend, but that's it. That's all we'll ever be. Yes, I care about her, but that doesn't mean my care goes beyond the love that comes with friendship. Okay, I love her..but, wait, not that kind of love. Damn!_

"How's that coffee coming?" Her quiet voice stopped his inner rant mode in seconds flat. He figured he couldn't hide from her anymore by staring at the coffee pot, so he turned, rag in hand, and began to wipe of the counter.

"Staring at the coffee pot doesn't make the coffee come out faster, contrary to what I like to believe sometimes."

"Lorelai," he groaned. He knew she was trying to lighten the mood and draw attention away from herself, but her tone and Luke's ever present thoughts made it impossible to take away from the seriousness that enveloped the room. He decided to change the subject.

"Shouldn't you still be at the wedding?"

"Yeah, but I didn't feel like putting on a happy face for the crowd anymore so I left. I doubt Sookie will even notice that I'm gone. Rory went out with Dean and Lane and she said she would be home late." She laid her head on her arm that was stretched out on the counter. "I feel like a piece of crap from a sick dog that was walked through several times and then scraped on a welcome mat. And, to top it off, it feels like the Energizer Bunny and the Little Drummer Boy have decided to have a pow wow in my temples."

_That was quite an image. _He wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about her day, and he wasn't ready to ask her what happened. He didn't expect her to lay everything on him like that. Luke continued to distract himself by rubbing the same spot in the counter.

"You might want to stop before you wear a hole in the counter," she managed to grunt

"What…oh," he absently stated. He took his hand off the rag, and began to frantically search for something else for his hands to do. He decided to close the blinds for the night. Normally, this was not a difficult task, also done absently with little thought required. Now, however, he found himself having a hard time making them close.

Luke wasn't quite sure why he couldn't bring himself to look at Lorelai for more than a few seconds. Perhaps it was the fact that his heart melted a little every time he saw how sad she was. _That can't be the reason. Why can't I stay mad at her? _Luke hated how cyclical his thoughts always were. His self-entitled "Feelings for Lorelai' rant, which emerged soon after Rachel left, always started and ended the same. He forced himself to believe that Rachel was wrong, and listed the things he did feel for Lorelai, but somehow the 'l-word' popped into his head and he would curse himself. The answer to the 'Why can't I stay mad at Lorelai' rant was following the same cyclical pattern, having the same answer as 'Why the hell do I always agree to fix stuff for her.' _I care. Why do I care?_

At this point, Luke no longer had answers and he tried to think of other things. The only problem was that Lorelai was not always in the room when he let his mind wander in other things. Her mere presence made it impossible to think of anything else.

The splattering of sound of coffee hitting the sides of the jug made Luke nearly jump out of his skin. Lorelai's head popped up quickly and she groaned. _Stupid headache! Stupid hangover! Stupid open bar! Stupid Christopher! Stupid Lorelai! _ She pushed her inward scolding aside and started to walk behind the counter. As she reached for the pot, Luke had made it behind the counter and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting coffee," Lorelai said as she attempted to put on a smile and an innocent act. The alcohol in her system and the pounding in her head made hard for her to determine if it was actually working.

"Why are you behind my counter?"

"To get the coffee."

"You can't go behind my counter. You aren't insured to be behind my counter. Sit!"

"Can't."

"Why?"

"You are still holding my wrist!" Luke looked down and saw she was right. He instantly let go and she obediently walked back to her stool. Luke sighed as he poured coffee in a big blue mug. He scooted it across the counter and into Lorelai's greedy hands.

"You know, I shouldn't even be giving you coffee right now. It's probably not going to mix well with the alcohol that's already in your system. I could whip you up a hangover remedy rea…"

"Luke, I haven't had your coffee in three weeks and I believe the shit level of my day warrants a treat. If you come between me and my coffee at this precise moment, I will have to resort to drastic measures!"

"Really," Luke said, with a hint of curiosity in his voice, "What sort of drastic measures?" _Jeez, am I flirting with her?_

"Um…well, there's always the 'I'm going to punch you in the face' threat, but I have a feeling that won't work on you. Gimme a sec, my quips aren't as fast as they usually are." Lorelai piked up her mug and clutched it in her hands. She took a long sip and closed her eyes. "I had almost forgotten. Mmmmmm."

Luke gave Lorelai a slight smile as he grabbed the pot and refilled her almost drained mug.

"Aw, you remembered," Lorelai said smiling sweetly.

"Well, some things about you tend to stick."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Lorelai drank her coffee and Luke went over to the cash register and began to balance his drawer.

Lorelai wasn't exactly sure of what motivated her to tell Luke everything, but there was just something about him. Deep down, she knew that behind that tough, flannel-clad exterior, there was a man who was a softie at heart. It was the same man who made her a Santa burger, brought ice to Rory's birthday party, drove her to the hospital, and built her a chuppah. He was the same person who made her numerous meals and poured thousands upon thousands cups of coffee. Above all else, he was the man who let her into his diner and poured her a cup of coffee when he was mad at her. As she sat drinking her coffee and watching Luke count bills, she felt herself come unglued. An unnatural desire to let her pride down washed over her. She felt like she could let her guard down in front of Luke and she was pretty sure that he wouldn't think less of her. Upon having this realization, she felt her throat constrict and tears threaten to fill her eyes. She sniffed quietly and began to speak:

"This is the second time I let myself do this. "

Luke was once again startled by her voice breaking the silence of the room. He had lost count of the stack of ones in his hands. He allowed himself to register what she had just said and asked, "Do what?"

"Think I finally found it."

"Found what?"

"Love, comfort, safety."

"Ah." Luke responded with sudden understanding. He knew something bad had happened at the wedding, but he was unprepared for the matters of Lorelai's heart.

"I mean, first with Max, which of course, I screwed up, and then with Christopher, which of course, all the elements of the universe got together to screw up." _So Christopher is back. I thought I heard Patty and Babette murmuring, but who really listens to them. I never have. I never liked that guy. Wait, you've been silent too long. Say something, Danes!_

"Yup, it's tough when the universe is against you. That's like taking on the Manhattan garbage union," He quipped, not really knowing what else to say. She looked so sad when she spoke.

"I always thought if he could just get it together, grow up – maybe we could do it. Maybe we could really be a family, in the stupid, traditional 'Dan Quayle, golden retriever, grow old together, wear matching jogging suits' kind of way. And then he did get it together – he became that guy. . . and he gets to be that guy with her. Chris is gonna have a baby with his girlfriend. He's gonna marry her. . .and he's gonna be there for her while she's pregnant and he's gonna be there with her while her child grows up, and he's gonna be there for her while she does. . . whatever it is she does. And I am in exactly the same place that I was in before." Her guard had come crashing down as she continued to speak. Her voice cracked and wavered, causing her to pause several times during her speech. A few tears managed to escape the fortress of her blue orbs and left their trails on her cheeks.

Luke felt awful as she spoke. _How could someone do that to her? She is an amazing person, Rory is proof of that fact. How could someone promise her the answer to her prayers and rip it away from her. Time to bring out the good. _"Is that so bad? I mean, you got Rory."

"Yes, I do."

"You got friends, you got a house, a job, apparently an iron stomach."

"No, it's not so bad," said Lorelai, slightly smiling, " I'm lucky, I know. I just. . .I feel like I'm never gonna have it. . .the whole package, you know? That person, that couple life, and I swear, I hate admitting it because I fancy myself Wonder Woman, but. . .I really want it – the whole package."

For some reason, this didn't shock Luke. Deep down, he knew that behind brave exterior was a woman that just wanted the promise of a future. He also knew that she was one of those lucky girls. She would get it all. Luke called it a gut instinct. It was similar to the one he felt when he was comfortable around a woman, but different in its own way.

"You'll get it," he stated knowingly, as he orated his thoughts for the first time that night.

"How do you know?" Lorelai questioned. He was probably just saying that out of pity. She was sad and Luke was trying to fix it. He was good at that, but she was not convinced that he meant it.

"I know."

"How do you know?" she practically pleaded with Luke. For some reason, beyond her own understanding, she needed to know how Luke just knew this would happen for her. At times like these, when her heart laid shattered, she truly believed she would die alone. This is what scared her the most.

"Because I know, okay?" He left it at that. He hoped Lorelai would leave it there too. This type of banter could last for years if he let it. He just knew.

Silence made its way into the air once more. Lorelai swirled her mug and took another long sip, draining the contents. Like a robot, Luke mechanically made his way over and filled her cup once again.

He wasn't sure what came over him right then, but he placed his hand over Lorelai's free hand that rested on the counter. She looked up from her coffee and gazed at Luke's hand. Her head slowly made its way up to look Luke in the eyes, blue staring into blue. In such a small gesture, so much was said. Lorelai took it to mean that he was sorry for what happened and wanted to show that he was still her friend. She smile feebly, and Luke returned with the biggest grin she had ever seen him possess.

"Does Rory know about what happened?"

"She has an idea. I think she saw the look on my face and noticed her father's absence and put two and two together. She was always so good at math. Anyway, I think she was the one who bribed the bartender to stop giving me drinks after my second martini. I'll probably tell her everything tomorrow. All the life is drained from me today."

"So they really stopped serving you drinks?"

"Oh yeah, and that bartender got an earful, lemme tell ya."

Luke squeezed her hand twice and let go. "I'll be back," he reported as he walked from behind the counter, through the curtain, and up the stairs. Lorelai was confused but sat still, curious about Luke's sudden disappearance. She was shocked when he came down with a bottle of what appeared to be whiskey. He grabbed the coffee pot and another mug and sat down next to her. Without saying a word, he twisted off the top and poured the whiskey into Lorelai's mug. What shocked Lorelai more was the fact that he poured whiskey and coffee into the second mug and took a sip.

"You," she pointed her finger right into Luke's face, "Are drinking coffee."

"Get that finger outta my face or I'll bite it," he retorted, taking a second sip. Lorelai's eyes widened.

"YOU are drinking coffee! You ARE drinking coffee! You are DRINK-"Lorelai was interrupted by Luke's hand over her mouth.

"This could go on for awhile. You promise to be good?" Lorelai nodded and Luke uncovered her mouth.

" Where the hell is a camera when I need it? Rory's never going to believe this," She said enthusiastically, waving her hand over the counter.

"I do not NORMALLY drink coffee. However, I only reserve the right for special occasions and it's always served Irish. Drink your coffee."

"Bless you!" Lorelai picked up her cup and did as she was told. They drank together, side-by-side, returning to their silent pattern. Lorelai realized that she liked having Luke sit beside her. Everything about this awful evening had felt better because Luke was there and she felt comfortable with him. The fight, in all its glory, suddenly came back to her in full force. Was this their way of making up? She had to know…

"Luke, are we okay?" She asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer. "I'm sorry," she added, not as an afterthought, but as something that had taken her a lot of intestinal fortitude to say.

"Yeah," he said, "All is forgiven. Sorry I told you to go to hell."

"Right back at ya,' she said with a smile, slightly mocking Luke's phrase from that fateful night.

Luke refilled their drinks and they sipped. It would take a lot of drinks for Luke to get up to Lorelai's buzz, but he appeared determined to catch up.

"I should probably tell you this before we are too drunk to remember…Jess is back."

"Somehow, and I may live to eat my words, that doesn't seem like such a bad thing." Rory's impromptu trip to New York came to mind. That seemed like months ago after tonight. _Strange, it was only last week._

Luke stopped filling the mugs with coffee and lined the bottom quarter with their alcohol of choice. He went into the storeroom and returned with an ice cold six-pack for later. It was an unspoken code between friends. He knew they both needed to be drunk tonight, whether they would regret it the next morning or not. Luke sat back down and picked up his mug.

"Here's to a long night of drinking. Here's to better days for you. Here's to Rory. Here's to the renewel of our friendship. Most of all, here's to you." With a smile, Lorelai picked up her mug and listened for the sound made when ceramic met ceramic. To her, it was better than the clink of a champagne glass, since it came with Luke's simple, but meaningful toast.

"Here's lookin' at you, kid." She said in her best Bogy, teamed with one of her akward winks.

"What?"

"You've never seen _Casablanca_? My, my, we have work to do young grasshopper."

"Maybe tomorrow." Luke said as handed Lorelai a beer. They twisted off the tops and clinked glasses again, just for good measure. As Luke took a swig, he thought _This will certainl be an eventful night._

**A/N: Well…What did you think? This is my first fanfic** **so I wanted to test the waters with a story I came up with a few days ago. I actually had an idea for another story first, but I wanted to see how this one went over before I attempted it. That way, if you all tell me this is horrible, I can stop without putting effort into the other story, which will take a lot out of me because it sounds awesome in my head  So, please review, if you would like. Reviews, both good and bad, would make me happy, like coffee, shoes, sales, and my cat. Please help me out here! I'm begging you! Well, as much begging I can do without groveling…OOOOO, I almost forgot! I originally intended this to be a oneshot, but I thought of a way to continue it last night. Shall I continue? Or shall I leave Luke and Lorelai to drink for all eternity. Please review! Pretty please. **


	2. The Morning After

**See Chapter 1 for the disclaimer and summery**

**A/N: Back by popular demand (HONKHONKHONKHOOOOOOOONNNNNKKKKK I hope you were hearing trumpets like I was) Chapter 2 of my story! I'll try to do my long a/n's at the end of the chapter, because if you are anything like me, you scroll past all the inside jokes authors include to their reviewers since you don't understand them anyway. Thanks to all my reviewers, you are all beautiful people and you all gave me that warm fuzzy feeling. Love ya! This chapter is dedicated to **LL Lover**, my very first reviewer. Enjoy…**

**Chapter 2: The Morning After…**

Lorelai shot up in bed, her breath coming out in a gasp. _What the hell is that noise? OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! My head! _She felt like she was in a haze. For lack of a better word, she felt hazy. Foggy, Ha! Another word to describe how she felt. _Too early! Head hurts! GAH! That noise! Oh my God! I'm not in my room!_

For the second time that morning she gasped. Lorelai was definitely not in her room. It was dark. She sat still and let her eyes adjust and her head clear. It looked familiar…_Luke's! I'm in Luke's apartment. I'm in Luke's bed. Where is Luke? Why do I keep saying Luke? _With her eyes properly accustomed to the light she looked over to her side. Then she saw it; Luke was next to her in the bed! Luke was next to her in bed with his shirt off! She quickly ran her hands over her body. Thank God, she was fully clothed. But she was flannel-clad. Luke's flannel. _This is not good. Definitely not good. Oh my God, did we… No, we couldn't have. Well, we very well could have but we didn't, right? Wait, what's the last thing I remember. Beer! I remember beer. Lots and lots of beer. Damn! _She could have screamed. And she did.

Luke practically leapt out of bed when Lorelai screamed. He scrambled up from his position to face the direction of the scream. He saw Lorelai and tried to get up from the bed. Unfortunately, his feet got tangled in the sheets and he fell out of the bed with a thud. Lorelai rushed to lie across the bed to check on her strange bedfellow, but the sudden action made her head throb.

Luke, his feet still wrapped in his most recent foe, lay on the floor head in hands. If that seemingly piercing scream wasn't enough to make his head ache, the jump and the fall from the bed did him in.

"Luuuuuke," she groaned, "Are you ok?"

"Mmmmmm," he responded, and if Lorelai was in the mood, she would have made a reference to the monster on Young Frankenstein. But, she wasn't.

Luke managed to raise himself up slowly. Very slowly. He leaned his back against the bed and rested his head on the mattress. Lorelai rolled over on her back slowly. Very slowly. She placed her hands on her forehead and preceded rub her temples. _Owwwww_. Their heads were parallel to each other.

"We were in bed together," Luke managed, but it ended up sounding like a muffle groan.

"Yeah, kinda got that memo."

"Ow, keep your voice down. You are extremely shrill in the morning."

"I'll stop being shrill if you stop talking in my ear."

Both hangover victims stopped talking and held their head in their hands. After a few minutes, Luke decided that he had gained enough courage to ask the question that had haunted him since he realized that he was in bed with Lorelai. In fact, it was the only thing running through his brain, beside the obvious 'Ow, my head hurts,' and 'What the hell happened last night.'

"We were in bed together," he said again.

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Lorelai responded. She didn't mean for it to sound so harsh, but at lease Luke wouldn't be complaining that she was shrill.

"Did we…"

"I don't know," she said, exhaling as she spoke. Her response was breathy, in sharp contrast to Luke's part grumble, part scratchy morning voice. _Is this his after-sex voice? Did I just think that out loud?_

Luke sent a message to his hands to check his clothing situation. Pants, no shirt. "I don't have a shirt on."

"No you don't."

"Are you fully clothed?"

"Yeah, but I'm wearing sweat pants and a flannel shirt, which is definitely not the getup I had on for Sookie's wedding."

"Ah," he voiced. _She's clothed and I'm half way clothed. This could either be very good or very bad. On the other hand, haven't you always wondered what it would be like with…STOP IT, DANES! Bad thoughts, very bad thoughts. I REALLY wish I remember what happened. _"So we are wearing clothes, but we were in bed together."

"'Bout the same situation I found myself in when I woke up."

"Do you remember anything from last night?" he asked, accentuating anything, mentally flinching even though he didn't know how she was going to respond.

"Beer. Lots and lots of beer. Beer up the wazoo. Wait a minute; I remember starting off with an Irish coffee. Hey, you drank coffee!" she said too excitedly for her current hung-over state. Her arm reached up and pointed down and toward Luke's face that was somewhere near hers.

_Great! That's what she remembers. I'm never going to live that one down. _He turned his head and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Lorelai's finger pointed directly at his eye. Seeing that he did remember Lorelai pointing her finger at his face last night and remembered his threat, he bit it.

"OW! What did you do that for?" She rose, one hand holding her head, her injured finger being shook violently.

"I warned you. You could've poked my eye out."

_I need to get up. _Luke thought. _I have a diner to run. The floor does feel good, though. _

The silence that enveloped the apartment after the great finger injury was broken by the same noise that initially woke Lorelai up.

"GAH, What the hell is that? It sounds like a freakin' jackhammer!"

The noise sounded familiar to Luke, but in his haze, it took him awhile to identify it. When it came to him, he practically shouted, "JESS! Jess is snoring!" He had almost forgotten that Jess was there. He was amazed that he had slept through the scream and the rest of the morning commotion. And then a flash hit him:

_He and Lorelai were stumbling up the stairs and into the apartment. She was singing 'Livin' on a Prayer' at the top of her lungs. Luke joined in on the chorus, the only part of the song he knew. He managed to fling the door open with Lorelai hanging on him. He was surprised to see Jess standing in his room, rubbing his head groggily. "Jeez, you think you could keep it down." Oh, come on Thess," Lorelai slurred, then giggled, "Haha, Thess." Luke began to laugh like 'Thess' was the funniest joke in the world. _And just as suddenly as the flashback began, it ended.

"Hello, loud! And that goes for both of you."

Lorelai tried to ignore the throb that she had every time that noise came out of Jess, and laid back down. Suddenly, she was overcome by a brief glimpse into her and Luke's night:

_She and Luke were sitting on the floor of the diner. Lorelai had taken off her stilettos long ago and was wearing Luke's flannel shirt over her dress since she had complained about the cold. Luke was in his white undershirt and jeans. They were both nursing a beer, slightly buzzed, but not quite to the drunk stage. "We should play a game," Lorelai announced. "Ah, jeez, can't we just drink our beers in peace." "No, we are going to play a game! Do you have cards?" Luke relented, and found the place behind the counter where he kept cards for a rainy day. They tried to play a few rounds of poker but found that they couldn't focus on the game for more than two seconds. "Do you have any board games? You know, Clue, Monopoly, Pretty Pretty Princess?" "I believe I know what a board game is and no I don't have any." Lorelai stuck out her bottom lip and made it quiver. Luke turned away with a look of disgust. "OOOOO, I know! Truth or Dare!" "No. We are not in junior high and we are not at a 'no boys allowed' slumber party." Lorelai raised her eyebrow, curious about his previous Truth or Dare experiences. "What? I do have a sister." Lorelai smiled and asked, "Truth or Dare?" Not feeling like doing anything physical, he responded "Truth." And the rousing game began._

Lorelai's thoughts were interrupted by a shrill buzz and ring combination. Both her and Luke groaned and Luke absently leaned, reached, and hit until he found the off button on his alarm. Lorelai heard Jess shift and grunt in the other room. _At least he's not snoring._

Luke rose to his knees and pulled the string on his lamp. _Time to get up_.

"Ahhhhhh, light. Too early. Too bright!" Lorelai screeched

"We should really get up," Luke stated practically.

"But we are soooooo hung over," Lorelai whined.

"Really, because that slipped my mind. I'm going downstairs."

"Bring me back coffee."

"No."

"Please."

"No, I'm making us my hangover remedy. It won't taste good with coffee."

"Oh, trust me babe. Anything can taste good with coffee."

"Stay in bed, I'll be back."

Ten minutes later, Luke returned, two glasses of his sweet remedy in hand. He cursed the blender for the God-awful sound it made, but his concoction had been made. He walked in and Lorelai sat up with her back against the headboard. Luke took a seat next to her, handed her a glass, and took a sip of his own. Lorelai made a disgusted face.

"What the hell is in this?"

"Trust me, ignorance is bliss."

"Good enough. Bottoms up," she said with a smile. She plugged her nose and drained her glass.

"Well, I feel better already."

"Good to know. You should probably get home to Rory before the diner opens and people see that you spent the night here and get the wrong impression."

"I think that we would have to figure out what happened ourselves before we can say that anyone has the wrong impression." Lorelai froze in sudden realization.

"What?" Luke questioned, part of him hoping she had a revelation about the escapades of the night before.

"Oh…My…God…RORY! I left her all alone. I told her I would be home probably before she came home. Oh no, she doesn't know why Christopher is gone. I'm going to have to go home and tell her about Christopher. I had almost forgotten. She's probably so worried about me. I have to get home!"

Lorelai jumped up and pulled her things together as she unbuttoned the flannel. It seemed like she had either forgotten that Luke was in the room or didn't care. He looked away, out of respect. She slid the dress over her head and took off the sweat pants. Luke followed her downstairs, as she collected her stuff from around the diner. Always being one to multitask, she strapped on her stilettos as she checker her phone messages.

"Oh no, she called and left a worried message last night. I feel awful. I was so concerned about wallowing in my own self pity that I didn't even think to call her."

It was like Luke was tying to set a record of doing things that he would never do in his normal everyday life. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Lorelai in a comforting hug.

"Thanks. I needed that." For the first time that morning, she allowed herself to really look at Luke. He was no longer shirtless, but had slipped on a tight-fitting sweater, which accentuated his well toned body. _Huh. Luke has muscles. Who knew? He looks kinda…nice. Whoa there. Lorelai needs to sleep more. Or get coffee in her system. Mmmmm, coffee._

"Do you think we will ever figure out what happened to us last night?" she asked tentatively.

"I think it will come to us eventually. I remembered going up to the apartment earlier this morning when I was on the floor."

"Do you honestly think we…uh…you know?"

"Honestly…no." _I would've remembered something like having sex with Lorelai_

"That's my gut feeling too."

They spent a few moments just staring and smiling, slightly relieved that they both didn't think that they had taken their friendship to a whole new level. Lorelai was the first to speak:

"Well, uh, I should go before Rory disowns me." She took a breath and added, "I want to thank you for last night. Well, the stuff I can remember anyway. I really needed a shoulder to cry on and a person to get drunk with. I don't think I have ever told you how much your friendship means to me, but, uh, its very important to me. So…thanks."

Luke smiled and was surprised when Lorelai hugged him.

"Your friendship means a lot to me too," he said in his low, gruff voice, as they let go, "Will I see you for breakfast?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "Save me some pancakes?"

"Sure. Hangover food?" he questioned, eyebrows raised. She nodded. "And coffee, I assume?"

"Well, you know what they say about people who assume…"

"What?"

"Well, they, uh, have large feet. Wait, no, wrong ending. I'll get back to you at breakfast."

He grinned at the woman before him, the only person who could have that effect on him. _Weird. I never thought of that before. _

"See you later, crazy lady." Just as she opened the door and the diner bells rang, he added, "And, don't worry about Rory. When you tell her about Christopher, she'll forgive and forget."

Lorelai smiled a 'thanks' and waved as she walked out into the dawn. The sun was just lighting her beloved town. Luke watched as she got in the Jeep and drove away. A strange, yet familiar feeling gripped his heart as he stared and waved, but he brushed it off, like he did thousands of times before.

**A/N: Well, that's Chapter 2. I wanted to have Lorelai talk to Rory in this chapter, but I got a little carried away, as you can see. I just had a faint idea about where I wanted this chapter to go and when I started writing, this chapter came out. I hope you liked it. I loved everyone's reviews, you guys are so sweet. You guys encouraged me to write another chapter, and I did it all tonight. Don't be afraid to drop suggestions or criticism too. I won't bite. Your reviews were the highlight of my day, so don't be a stranger, and please drop by the review area.**

**So, I have an idea for another story, like I said in the last chapter, but I want to run it by you. It's set in Season 6. Lorelai is saddened by her rift with Rory, so Luke suggests that she take a trip to get away from all the constant reminders and let her think about how to mend her broken relationship. However, the story is going to start a little over two years in the future, with Lorelai coming back to Stars Hollow after being gone for a long time. It will be a mixture of the future (which will be the present, if that makes sense), and the past. Lorelai's trip will take her to Christopher's in Boston, where she tells him about what had been going on in his daughter's life. It is while she is in Boston, that she realizes that she is pregnant, but before she can tell Luke, he gets mad that she is at Christopher's house that they get into a fight and she loses her nerve. Lorelai drives across the country to Santa Barbra and finds Mia. She also severs her ties with Luke, except for a letter on his birthday, where she still doesn't mention the baby. When Lorelai returns to Stars Hollow, the baby is 1 ½. Wow, that's a long summery, lol. What do you think? A good or bad fanfic? I would appreciate your feedback. I think it's a Luke and Lorelai break-up w/ a kid story with a twist.**

**Tell me if you think I should keep going…**


	3. A Little Less Conversation

**See Chapter 1 for disclaimer and summery**

**A/N: WOW, I am really mystified by how many hits this story has and how many great reviews I've gotten so far. And some of you guys put this on your favorites…I'm touched. I really am. It means you like me, you really, really like me. Or, you just like my story. You guys are the best! This chapter is dedicated to **LoVeLuKe**, who watched Casablanca for the first time and told me all about it. I love reviewers like you.**

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**Chapter 3: A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action…**

Lorelai got home without any further incident. She pulled into the driveway, marveling at the fact that Luke's hangover remedy actually made her more focused. Her headache had lessened. _This isn't a concoction or a remedy; it's a miracle cure!_

She opened the Jeep door and shut it quietly, afraid of waking Rory or even worse, Babette. She took her time up the stairs and took off her shoes once she reached the top. Shoes in hands, Lorelai approached the door. She hesitated, ever so slightly, before she put the key in. She just wasn't quite sure if she was ready to face her daughter and tell her about Christopher and her night with Luke. _Are you afraid of your own daughter _her conscious scolded. _Hello, you are the mom and an adult! You don't have to answer to her for anything._

Slowly, she manipulated the key in the lock and she heard the bolt move aside. She eased the door open, but it creaked ever so quietly. Lorelai found the she was shushing the door, but that was making more noise than it was worth. _I believe I am now certifiably crazy. I mean, who says shhhh to an inanimate object. Only me!_

As she dropped her coat, shoes, and purse in the hall, she noticed that Rory was peacefully sleeping on the couch, with the TV running softly in the background. That made her feel even worse for not coming home that night. Rory had been waiting up for her and she never walked through the door. _She was probably wondering about Christopher. I feel so awful. _

SLAM! Lorelai jumped and screamed, "Hey there! Ho There!" when the door slammed shut. She still stood in the hall, one hand gripping her chest. "Elizabeth," she whispered, "I'm comin' to meet you!"

"Welcome home, Nat the Dog walker," said the scratchy voice from the couch. She wasn't surprised that Rory had woken up, but her voice made her jump all the same.

"GAH! I'm still all jumpy from the door slam. You scared me. Hold on a sec, I'm slow this morning…Nat the Dog walker?"

"Mad About You."

"Oh sweets, I'm crazy about you too," she quipped, walking out of the hall and to the side of the couch where Rory's feet rested. Lorelai knew as soon as Rory said Mad About You, that she was referring to her unique scream. She picked up her daughter's feet and sat down, putting the feet in her lap. Then, she covered herself and Rory's feet with Rory's blanket.

"No Mom," Rory groaned, "The TV sh-…Ohhhhh. We are both a little slow this morning."

"That's because even Amish milkmen are not up right now." Lorelai mentally prepared herself for the inevitable question that Rory would ask as she patted her daughter's legs through the blanket. After a few moments of silence, Rory finally posed, "Where were you last night? I waited up for you, but you never came. Did you go see Dad?"

Rory threw Lorelai for a loop. She wasn't prepared for her daughter to think that she was with Christopher.

"No, hon, I didn't go see your dad. I was at Luke's."

"You were at Luke's! I thought you guys were stil-…Oh hohoho, you were at Luuuke's," Rory said in a sing-song voice. Then a look of horror crossed her face and she punched her mother's arm, "How could you be WITH Luke, when you are WITH Dad?"

_Oh Boy…Here it goes… _"Luke and I are not together!" she said defensively, "I went over there last night for a cup of coffee and Luke and I made up and got to talking. Then we got to drinking. We were both a little too snockered, so I stayed the night on his couch." She felt better leaving out the whole truth. _No need to tell Rory that Luke and I woke up in bed together with no recollection of the night before. _"As for Christopher, we need to talk about that."

Rory's lips formed a circle, as if she was saying 'oh.' She knew what was coming. Her mother had this talk with her before. She wasn't stupid. She knew when she couldn't find her dad at the wedding after she had walked down the aisle. She knew just by looking at her mother's face the day before. But, most of all, she knew that her dad would never stay forever, no matter how hard he tried and how much he promised. "He's gone for good, isn't he?" Rory felt so naïve for thinking that her mother had gone to see Christopher last night.

Lorelai couldn't help but feel teary-eyed just by looking at the disappointment that crossed her daughter's faced. Hell, she was disappointed too. Chris had really let her down this time, more than ever before. She nodded in response to Rory's question

"Well, what's his excuse this time? I'm sure it's a doozie," she said sarcastically, trying to focus her attention on the infomercial and not on Lorelai's face. She knew if she looked her mother in the eye she would lose all control and break down, and she was sick of crying over Christopher Hayden.

"He had some business to take care of," Lorelai said, her voice cracking slightly. She wanted to ease Rory into the events of Christopher's life, but she wasn't sure why. _I don't know why I still try to defend him in front of Rory. She's not a little girl anymore. I should just tell her the facts and let her come to a decision about Chris herself._

"Bullshit!" she exploded, her throat constricted and on the verge of tears. She looked at Lorelai then, the wrath of a thousand suns burning in her eyes. "Tell me the truth. I deserve the truth."

_You can't handle the truth_. That line was no longer funny to her as it had been in the past, when she and Rory would watch the movie. "The truth is, Sherry's pregnant. She called right before the ceremony started. Your dad was torn, but decided that he needed to be there for this baby, since he missed out on being with you. He went back to Boston to be with Sherry."

_Of course, the phone call he got before he left me. Before I saw Jess…_"How can you be so calm about this? Doesn't it piss you off that Dad's there instead of here? Doesn't it make you angry that he wants to be the dad of this unborn baby instead of me?" Rory let the tears fall with her realization. _He doesn't want to be my dad. He never could be my dad._

"Yes," Lorelai yelled, losing her calm demeanor at the sight of Rory's tears, "It does make me mad. Very mad! But, what can I do? I can't control Christopher. I can't tell him what to do or who to be with. I can't make him be here for us. I can't look him in the eye and tell him that his loyalties should go to us since we were here first. I can't do any of that. And I'm frustrated. I am so damn frustrated! I let myself believe that, for the first time, we were in the same place. I thought that we could finally be a family. I just knew that he was finally going to be there for you, for both of us. I foolishly held Christopher so close and let him kiss me until I couldn't breathe because after all these years I still love him. And I thought he still loved me." Lorelai took a breath when she realized the she was crying. Then she practically whispered, "I was such a fool. I can't believe I let my guard down to let him in again, only to let him trample over both of us."

Rory had turned her face away again, this time staring at the wall. She hated her dad for doing this to her mom. She hated him for doing this to her. She furiously wiped her tears away, not wanting to let herself cry over a man who had hurt her feelings more times then she could count. But this time, it went beyond her feelings. He had damaged her soul and broke her mother's heart once again. She knew it was selfish, but she wanted her father to choose her over this baby. That was what hurt her the most.

On the table next to the couch was the empty glass that Rory had used for water. She had never been the type of person to throw things when she was mad, but it seemed appropriate. Then she saw her mark; a picture of Christopher, Lorelai, and her on a table across the room. She picked up the glass and threw it with every ounce of strength she had, surprising Lorelai. The glass missed the picture by a mile and flew into the wall. It shattered and left a mark on the painted surface. Lorelai flinched and Rory sobbed into her hands. She reached over and wrapped her arms around Rory. She let herself let go to sob with her daughter. She rocked her baby girl in her arms until they had both fallen asleep.

* * *

The bright light of day woke Lorelai up later that morning. She was in a rather odd position. Rory's head rested on her lap, the rest of her body curled in a ball. Her head was on Rory's hip. They were holding hands, like they did when she was little. Lorelai's eyes focused and she looked at the clock. 9:15. _Not a bad sleep, though the conditions that put us to sleep were slightly trying. I'm starving. _She raised her head and allowed it to rest on the back of the couch.

Rory stirred then, and she smiled at Lorelai, "I'm hungry."

"Me too, sweetie darling."

"Since you and Luke are friends again, can we have a Luke's breakfast?"

"You read my mind. Luke said he would save us some pancakes earlier this morning."

"Mmmm, hangover food. I almost forgot that you were at Luke's all last night. What did you guys do besides drink and sleep?"

_Still no need to tell her that I don't remember much of the night's activities _"Oh, we did this and that. Actually, I've been holding out on the best part of the night."

"Intrigue!"

"I know you probably won't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes, but…get this…Oh, you'll never believe it…But it happened…I wish I had a camera for that precise moment…But-"

"Would you just get on with it!"

"Luke drank coffee!"

Rory's eyes got big and a huge and wicked grin spread across her face. "Tell me more!"

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**A/N: Just so you know, I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. It's just a filler until I get a great inspiration of where to go next. I don't really think Rory is in character well. I hope you enjoyed it, though. You guys are still awesome. If you actually liked this chapter or have any suggestions on where to go next, drop a note in my review box. I'm still vacillating (don't you just love that word. I think it makes me sound college-ish. I feel like that since I'm at a university, I should actually use big words in my everyday conversations.) on whether I should write the other story or not. I know its been done, but I want to find a way to set it apart from all the rest. **

**I also won't be able to update for a week or so. Being a big college girl, I have two huge projects due on Monday and Tuesday of next week, and I have procrastinated way too long on them. Oh, and I also have season tickets for UofA basketball (nearly impossible to get, I lucked out and won the lottery this year) so I'll be at the game tomorrow. Go Wildcats! Yet another reason why I can't update for awhile. Its much easier to whip out one of these in a couple of hours then it is to sit down and pretend to be interested in female prophets in the Bible (ok, yes, the general subject interests me, but I'd rather not write a 6-8 page research paper on it). By the way, it really shocks me how fast I can write a fanfic chapter. I don't know how I've been able to update everyday. I hope I won't disappoint you too much. Let me know when my chapters start to get crappy, and then I'll start spending more time on them.**

**Since I started watching Gilmore Girls, I have tried to add more pop culture into my conversations. For example, I was in the mall, shopping for my best friend's birthday gift, and I rounded a corner and almost ran full force into this guy. And then he hit on me! He said, "Hello Gorgeous!" Who says that? My Napoleon Dynamite shirt must have been sending a vibe because I had FIVE guys hit on me that day. That does not happen to me, ever. It was so weird. So, anyway, back to my point. I was telling my friend about the guy in the mall and I said, "Who does he think he is, Barbra Streisand?" I was pretty proud of myself that I thought fast enough to make a movie reference in my conversation. So, enough rambling, I hope you'll be able to notice when I add a reference now and then. **

**Oh, I also wanted to say that I'm a Christian and I really don't like to cuss, but it fits in with the characters more, so I'll be using it in my writing. In reality, I hardly notice it anymore, but I know it might offend some people.**

**That's enough listening to me, I know most of you have already scrolled and moved on. My a/n is almost as long as my chapter. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Please still love me after this chapter!**


	4. Sips, Slips, and Dreams

**See Chapter 1 for disclaimer and summery**

**A/N: I'll try not to make my A/N's as long as I did last time. I got a little write-happy. This chapter is dedicated to** Javamaniac** , who shares in my recent use of pop culture in everyday conversations. Gilmore Girls makes us smart!**

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**Chapter 4: Sips, Slips, and Dreams**

The diner bells happily jingled as the Gilmore Girls stepped into their favorite dining establishment. They chatted at full speed as they looked for an empty table. At 10 in the morning on a Sunday, the diner was still alive with the morning crowd. Not finding an empty table, the girls opted for the counter. Luke would never admit it to Lorelai, but serving them was usually the highlight of his day. Sure, he acted like he was irritated and grumpy, but the vivacity and feistiness that the girls were famous for made his working experience a bit more enjoyable. After taking the order of a nervous couple with a very sticky baby, we weaved through the crowded tables and made his way over to the counter.

"What can I get you?"

"Ah, how I've missed that," Lorelai said with a classic grin, "Well, I do believe those pancakes are in order, and an entire pot of coffee."

"No pot, I'm only giving you a cup."

"Excuse me, we are paying customers. If we want a pot, we will get a pot."

"Well as the proprietor of this establishment, I have the right to refuse service to anyone."

"Can he actually refuse service to us, a starving single mother and her beautiful child," Lorelai asked, directing her question at Rory.

"Yes, he can still refuse service, but when you put it that when you put it that way it sounds pretty heartless."

"Jeez," Luke grumbled, "What do you want, Rory?"

"Um, pancakes too, and make mine chocolate chip."

"Oooo, that sounds good, change mine to chocolate chip."

"Ok, coming up." Luke handed off the order to Caesar and grabbed two of his famous big mugs. Lorelai wore a greedy expression on her face and snatched up the mug as soon as Luke poured the heavenly coffee. For some reason beyond Luke's imagination, Rory was smirking at him. Then she spoke:

"Hey Luke."

"Yeah Rory."

"You work really hard and you look like you could use a break. Do you want a sip?"

Lorelai put the coffee mug up to her lips to hide her large grin.

"Ah, jeez. You told her?" Luke asked, glaring at Lorelai. Both girls stared back at Luke with huge grins, eyes shining.

"You didn't really expect for me to keep something so good to myself, did you?"

"Jeez," Luke muttered again, as he walked off to serve his other customers. Lorelai turned around to see him shake his head and mutter to himself and then she focused her attentions on her angel child.

"So I have the whole rest of the day planned, since I'm losing my baby girl for the whole summer."

"Aw, Mom. Now you have me all depressed about going."

"Oh, my baybee. Doesn't wanna be away from her mama. No she doesn't. No she doesn't.' Lorelai cooed and pinched Rory's cheeks.

"Welly Maw, suhties you need to git a gwip." Lorelai let go and patted her daughter's head. Then she got a crazy glint in her eye and stroked Rory's face with the back of her hand.

"I have the prettiest mother, everybody thinks so."

"And I believe the word I was looking for was…anyway."

"Ah, the queen of segues. Well, first we hit the malls and shop for some senator-worthy, Washingtonish, clothes. Ooo, and shoes. Ooo, and a Sephora run."

"You're taking me shopping! You really are the prettiest mother."

"Well, thanks, I try. Then, we'll hit one of the crappy summer flicks at the theatre, since you are leaving me and I won't go see them without you. Oh, and did I mention that you are leaving me?"

"No, I believe that was the first time. Thanks for reminding me."

"Then, we have plenty of time for you and Dean to spend some time together and suck face, followed by ultimate mother-daughter movie night. I believe your eminent departure deserves the best of Washington movies. Let's see, that'll be _Dick_, _Dave_, _Mr. Smith Goes to Washington_, and I was saving the best for last. I had Kirk save me _Earth vs. the Flying Saucers_."

"Don't think I heard of that one."

"Oh, I hadn't heard of it either. But, I googled movies that were set in Washington and I must say the plot is worthy of us. It's a 1950s sci-fi, and the summery said something about aluminum foil aliens and Cracker Jacks. Mommy did good, huh?"

"Sounds very good. Did you happen to factor in packing time for me?"

"That's all you, babe. I try to help, but I must say that you are very anal about the way you want your pants folded."

"I told you once, I told you a thousand times before. No wrinkles!"

"And NO WIRE HANGERS! ARRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH," Lorelai mocked, in her best Mommy Dearest vice.

"One of these days, Alice," Rory said, without emulating Jackie Gleason, "POW! Right to the moon!"

"Order up," Luke said , setting the steaming pancakes in front of the girls. As he set Lorelai's down in front of her, he accidentally brushed her hand. It was something that had probably happened a million times before, but Lorelai felt a chill run down her spine and the hair on her arms started to rise. Her heart was beating, but she couldn't figure out why. _Luke has touched me hundreds of times. What is going on with me? Its almost like when I have feeling…Noooohohohoho, that can't be it. Luke is my friend. I do not feel anything for Luke other than that. Unless something happened last night…Stupid alcohol!_

"Earth to Lorelai!" Rory said waving her hand in front of her mother's face.

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry. I must've zoned out."

"Yeah, you did one of those chill shakes too. What's up?"

"Uh, nothing. I don't even know what I was thinking about. Let's dig in," Lorelai said, attacking her pancakes with her fork. They ate in silence for a bit, until Rory couldn't stand it anymore.

"Were you thinking about Dad?"

"Ummm, not exactly. Just thinking in general. You're leaving me all summer you know."

"Kinda got that message. It's okay, if you were thinking about him. You can't really erase a Christopher encounter fast."

"I know, kiddo"

"Promise me you'll talk to someone, like Sookie, if you are feeling blue."

"I'll be okay sweets. You're a good kid. Same goes for you too, alright?" Rory nodded and Lorelai reached over and gave her daughter an impromptu hug and kiss on the forehead. "Now, let's finish our breakfast and go hit the town."

* * *

A few pancakes later, Luke came back over to the counter. The breakfast crowd had died down a bit, so Luke could spare a few moments with the Gilmore Girls. He couldn't help but notice Lorelai's intense loss of attention when he brought over her breakfast. Sure, their hands had accidentally touched. It had happened before and it was bound to happen again sometime. But, it felt different to Luke. His heart raced and he felt like he needed to get out of there as fast as possible. This time, he needed to get his cool back.

"Glad to see you're back with us," Luke said dryly. The sound of Luke's voice made Lorelai jump and her hand suddenly got a mind of its own. She hit her mug, spilling the hot coffee all over the counter. Lorelai jumped up and nearly fell over backwards. Rory reacted fast and jumped up from the stool, grabbing her mother's arm. Luke quickly sopped up the contents with his rag. _Major Deja vu, _Lorelai thought. _Why does this situation seem so familiar. _

"You okay?" Luke asked as he wiped the counter off with a wet rag,

"Oh yeah, um great, terrific. Just don't scare me like that ever again."

"Sorry 'bout that. I'll get you another cup."

Luke was true to his word and brought her another cup of the heavenly blend. He walked away to attend to other customers. Rory glared at Lorelai with a slight smirk on her face.

"What was that all about?"

"You saw what happened. Luke scared me to death."

"You knocked over a coffee cup. You would never waste a precious drop of Luke's coffee."

"Well, it was a fluke. Ha, Luke and fluke rhyme."

Rory's smirk turned into a smile and she started laughing, "The look on your face…priceless."

"Shut up."

Lorelai stood up and gathered their stuff as Rory left money for their breakfast. Rory was still laughing to herself as she calculated the tip, but was interrupted by Jess walking through the curtain. Rory tried to stand up fast, but her feet got tangled with the stool and she lurched forward, hands flailing in front of her. She knocked her breakfast plate off the counter and the crash made the entire diner become silent. As gracefully as she could, Rory got up and placed a couple extra dollars on the counter and walked as quickly as she could out the door. Lorelai followed, but caught Luke's glance and shrugged. Luke waved, knowing he would probably see them for dinner.

Outside, Lorelai laughed a bit, and Rory avoided looking at her mother as they made their way to the Jeep for their shopping excursion.

"Well, that was very graceful."

"Shut up."

* * *

_They were sitting on the counter, something Luke would never allow under normal circumstances. It was post Truth or Dare, since the game got sillier after a few shots. They were drinking coffee. Luke and Lorelai were dinking coffee. LUKE DANES was drinking coffee without a bit of whiskey. He wasn't sure what motivated him to listen to Lorelai, but she insisted that it would help with the buzz. There wasn't much discussion, but Lorelai was humming 'Livin' on a Prayer.' She still couldn't believe that she had gotten Luke to admit that Bon Jovi was one of his bands of the 80s. He could've just thought of the first group that came to his head, but the confession made Lorelai gloat and mock all the same. Of course, she liked Bon Jovi too, but she never thought Luke was that kind of guy. She set her mug down in between Luke and herself, not realizing that the hot pot was still there. Her hand came in contact with the heat and she spilled the remaining contents of her own mug on the same hand, burning her. "Ow, dammit!" Luke reacted fast for someone who's inhibitions were slowed. He maneuvered around the counter and grabbed her wrist, getting her off the counter. He led her to the sink and ran the cold water, holding her hand under the flow and slightly rubbing it. _

"_Are you okay?"_

"_I think so," she said, turning her head to look at the fast-thinking diner man. They had ended up in quite a different position for them. Luke's arms were around her, and he was standing slightly to her left, very close. Both of his hands were holding her burned one under the water. When she turned her head, their faces were inches apart. It was like a spell took over Lorelai. This whole night had been about Luke helping her. She felt good in his arms, safer then she ever had in Max's or Christopher's. He was looking into her eyes, hands still holding hers. At the precise moment, she wanted to know what it would be like to kiss Luke. She sent him messages with her eyes, hoping he was thinking the same. And he was. One of his hands let go of hers, bringing it up to touch her face, cupping her chin with his dripping hand. Then he leaned in, very slowly._

_The diner bells jingled and the unsuspecting couple jumped apart. Jess meandered into the diner, muttering something like "It's about time." Luke wasn't sure what to think anymore. Would he have gone through it? Did Lorelai want to kiss him. He wasn't so sure anymore. He grabbed a rag to dry his hands and handed it to Lorelai.. "Want another beer?"_

* * *

Luke jumped as he woke from his dream. He had fallen asleep in his chair, watching the game. He dreamed of Lorelai. He dreamed of he and Lorelai kissing. He had dreamed of Lorelai before, embarrassed to even admit it to himself, but never had it been so vivid. It never seemed realistic. _Is it possible…No, that didn't happen last night. But, it could have…_

* * *

Lorelai sat up after her dream, causing Rory to almost lose control of the popcorn bowl.

"Jeez, Mom. Wake up a little nicer."

"Whoa, sorry. Weird dream. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep."

"Yeah, good thing we decided to watch the alien one first, while we were still fresh. What'd you dream about?"

"Nothing significant," she lied, not wanting to admit that it was about her and Luke in a romantic position, "I want to think about it a bit more."

She went back to watching Mr. Smith in all his glory, but she had lost interest in the movie. Her heart was still beating. _Wow, never dreamed of Luke like that. We almost dream kissed. Very weird. But why did it feel so familiar? Have I dreamt that before? No, I would've remembered a dream like that. Wait a minute, I was in my dress from the wedding. Did that happen last… No no no no, it couldn't have. Could it?_

Curious, she looked at her left hand, examining it carefully. That's when she noticed the soft, white scar to the side. Like a burn scar. _Oh my God!_

* * *

**A/N: I can't believe it! I made it to Chapter 4. I almost panicked because I got a little writer's block, but I think I made it through. I wanted some more LL action, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review, because they make me happy happy. I even put off writing my paper a bit more so I can give you guys a chapter.**

**So, I've been pretty lucky lately (knock on wood). A few weeks ago, my mom entered me in a raffle for a local high school back home, and I didn't even know about it. Well, it turns out, I won! $1500! I was shocked. I don't think I have ever held a check for that much. So, for the point of my story. I was holding the check and said, "Look at the pretty money! Pretty, pretty money!" Then, I was wondering where I had heard it before. Of course, Gilmore Girls. Gotta love Sookie. Ever have moments like that? I loved Tuesday's episode, even though I didn't think I would like Luke's little surprise. But, it was very well executed, not as soap operaish like it could've been. Please review.**


	5. But It's Too Late Baby

**See Chapter 1 for Summery and Disclaimer**

**A/N: WOW! I've made it to Chapter 5 and I still have yet to write my paper. I better get cracking' Good thing it's due on Tuesday. I still love all my reviewers. You guys are all peaches. This chapter is dedicated to **screaming truth **for giving me direction and **lukelorelai-en **for making me laugh.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: It's Too Late Baby…**

Lorelai tossed her keys on the desk, avoiding the answering machine for a few moments longer. She had just returned from the Hartford airport after seeing Rory off. She was having separation anxiety already. Six whole weeks without her daughter, her best friend, her confidant, would be torture. After hugging Rory tight, and slipping her a 5 spot for trashy magazines, she watched her baby walk off with Paris and enter the security line with a heavy heart. For the first time in her entire life, she would have the house to herself for a long period of time. It was very strange. It already felt empty without Rory.

Lorelai slipped into the kitchen and pulled coffee from the freezer. It was Luke's blend, a birthday gift from her favorite diner owner. She mechanically spooned the coffee onto the filter and poured the water in. The house was quiet, too quiet. Time for music.

She couldn't ignore the blinking answering machine light for much longer. Rory made her promise that she would wait to open the mail and check the messages until she had left. _Music first, then pain_.

Carole King seemed like nice alone music. It was a CD she liked, but didn't listen to very often. More of a guilty pleasure, like Barry Manilow. She slowly walked over to the answering machine, slightly swaying and humming along to _It's Too Late_. Her finger hesitated before she pushed the play button, knowing who most of the messages would be from. _Here goes nothing…_

**You have 24 new messages**

_Terrific!_

"Lore, we need to-" BEEP. **Message Deleted. **"That felt good," she said aloud, to no one in particular, except for maybe Carole.

"Lorelai, I'm sor-"

"Lore, please call-"

"Rory, have your mom-"

"Lorelai, it's your mother," GAH! Her mother's voice scared her and made her drop the mail in her hand. She was expecting all the messages to be from Christopher, but having Emily call was an unpleasant surprise. "I just wanted to remind you that your father and I will be at the Vineyard all summer, so Friday Night Dinners are cancelled until we return. I didn't expect you to remember with all the cocktails you had at the wedding. Rory, have a wonderful time in Washington. Your grandfather and I are very proud. Oh, and bring Christo-"

Lorelai half listened, mostly deleted the rest of her messages, singing loudly with Carole on the chorus, "But it's too late baby, now it's too late." Maybe if she could sing loud enough, Christopher would hear all the way in Boston…

* * *

A few stragglers remained at the diner at 8 after the dinner rush. Luke didn't feel very busy. He let Jess and Caesar off early and handled the tables himself. Kirk was sitting at the counter, slowly nibbling a grilled cheese.

"Luke, can I have a quarter-caf?"

"Sure thing, Kirk." He inwardly smiled, remembering Lorelai's comment about four-fourths not caring. It was what he always thought of every time Kirk ordered a quarter-caf. _Funny how some memories are triggered just like that._

He hadn't been able to get the dream from last night out of his head. It was now a permanent entity. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't piece together the events of a few nights before. Luke couldn't tell if the dream was a ghost of actual events, or if it was a fantasy.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing diner bells. As always, he looked up, not surprised when Lorelai walked through the door.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee!" She stated exuberantly, taking a seat near Kirk.

"How many cups have you had today?"

"Not nearly enough."

"That means you've had too much. How about some tea?"

"Try a quarter-caf," Kirk said, adding his two cents to the ever present bickering between the two friends.

"How 'bout just he coffee?" She asked, trying her best to become cute and doe-eyed.

"Fine, but don't think I always give up this easily." Luke walked over to the counter and poured her a cup. Taking both pots in hand, he refilled Kirk's mug, and glared at Lorelai when she held out her mug after only taking a sip.

"Please, sir, I wont some mo"

"Drink what's in there, then I'll give you whatever you want."

"Dirty! And heartless."

"Jeez."

After awhile, Kirk paid his bill and left the diner to return home to his mother. Lorelai was the only one at the counter. Silently, she lifted up her mug to show that it was empty. Luke sighed and rolled his eyes, but filled her mug.

"Angel!"

Another couple left the diner, and Luke decided to start his closing up ritual by counting his drawer. He was finding it hard to look Lorelai straight in the eye after the dream. She looked intoxicating that night. Her hair was loose and curly, and she was wearing nice jeans and a turquoise button-up shirt. He was curious as to why she was still at the diner, reading a magazine. Usually, with the exception of Friday nights, she would be at home by this time.

"You're here late tonight."

"Well, my house is a tad foreboding with no one else in it."

"Ah, you saw Rory off to Washington today. I almost forgot."

"Do you mind if I stay until you kick me out?" She asked, baby blues pleading. She suddenly felt more comfortable around Luke after the other night. A week ago, she never would have asked Luke if she could stay because she was lonely. Then again, a week ago they were still fighting. Something about that night had changed both of them, but she couldn't remember or place her finger on a particular transition. There was that dream from the night before. It made her fidgety remembering how close they were. _Stop it, Lorelai! It was just a dream. _Both signs of her brain had waged war against each other on this subject. _Then, how do you explain the burn on your hand?_ She had pushed any thought of the dream out of her head all day, when she was with Rory, or listening to her messages, or working at the inn. Now, it was coming back in full force, ready to bite her in the ass.

"Yeah, sure. Do you want to help me close? Then we could have a beer." He couldn't turn her away with a look like that. Plus, he enjoyed her company. He could push thoughts of the dream aside to spend time with his lonely, daughter-less friend.

As a sign of confirmation, she stood up and abandoned her magazine. To test the waters, she stepped behind the counter. For the first time in the 5 or 6 some odd years that she knew Luke, he didn't growl at her. Instead, he handed her a wet rag. "Clean off the counter and the tables and I'll clean the grill."

Seeing it as a sign to leave, the last couple of people paid their bill and exited the diner. The two friends worked silently, but comfortably. Lorelai had been here so many times that she seemed to automatically know what to do. She bustled about, wiping off the surfaces and putting the chairs on top of the tables. When she had finished that task, she moved on to close the blinds. She had always been bad at closing blinds, the exact reason why there were no blinds at her house. "Luuuuuuukkkkkeee!" She called.

"You beckoned?"

"I can't close the blinds," She said helplessly. Luke chuckled, then pulled the cords and the blinds fell into place.

"I did that! You have misogynistic blinds!"

"No, you just can't close them."

* * *

It didn't take long to finish up their chores for the night, and Lorelai felt at a loss. She didn't want to go home quite yet. She secretly hoped Luke would let her stay longer. To test her friend again, she picked up her purse and magazine.

"Hey, I owe you a beer."

Lorelai's eyes lit up and she ditched her stuff on one of the tables, sitting down at the counter once again. Luke went to the storeroom and came back with two cold ones. For the second time in a matter of a few days, he sat beside her at the counter. They drank in a comfortable silence for awhile, when Lorelai remembered the night of Jackson and Sookie's first date. She and Luke played 5-card draw, and she kicked his ass! They never played again, obviously not remembering their drunken attempts from a few nights before.

"Hey, Luke. Remember that night when I came here after that awful double date and we played poker?"

"Yeah," he said tentatively. He remembered that night well. He had foolishly almost asked Lorelai out. That felt like so long ago. It was pre-Rachel returning, pre-Lorelai's engagement to Max, and pre-Jess coming into his life. So much had changed that he thought of that moment as foolish. They were friends, no matter what he had felt in the past. No matter what he dreamt…

"Do you still have those cards?"

Luke got up and went behind the counter and produced the cards, winning a big smile from Lorelai. "Wait just a minute." He said and went upstairs. Jess had the music up and he was reading on his bed. Ignoring his nephew, he grabbed the mason jar of coins on his dresser and made his way back down to Lorelai.

After returning to his seat, he shuffled the cards. He grabbed a handful of coins and gave them to Lorelai. After placing a pile in front of himself, he put the cards in his hand. "Five card draw, nothing's wild."

"You got it sailor" she mock saluted, speaking in her sexiest bimbo voice.

"Jeez," he responded, dealing the cards. He tossed a penny in the center and made sure she did the same. He watched her look at her cards, corners of her mouth drawn down and brows furrowed. She shook her head and put four of her cards down. "Four, please."

He had seen her do this the last time. She had an awful poker face. He gave her four cards, taking two for himself and watched her have the same reaction. He had a pair of kings, not a great hand in the scheme of things, but he wasn't too concerned about winning.

"Four more."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because that's cheating."

"Fine, jeez Maverick."

He made her start the betting, frivolously tossing coins on the pile. He met and upped the bet a few times, until he called, laying down his pair.

"Oh, you are good Brett," Luke sighed, and began to scoop up his winnings, but she placed her hand on top of his. "But, not good enough."

She laid down three of a kind and then squealed with delight as she used both hands to put her winnings into her pile. _How the hell did that happen? She asked for four cards. Lucky son of a gun._

* * *

They played more rounds, more types of poker. They had another beer. Things were going well, both were enjoying themselves and each other's company. After awhile, Luke noticed a white scar on Lorelai's hand. _No, it couldn't be. That was a dream. _Luke grabbed her wrist while she was in mid-shuffle. He had to know, had to make sure.

"What did you do?"

* * *

_The diner bells jingled and the unsuspecting couple jumped apart. Jess meandered into the diner, muttering something like "It's about time." Luke wasn't sure what to think anymore. Would he have gone through it? Did Lorelai want to kiss him. He wasn't so sure anymore. He grabbed a rag to dry his hands and handed it to Lorelai.. "Want another beer?"_

_He went back behind the curtain to grab more beers. He needed to get away from her, he needed to catch his breath. What the hell did he almost just do?_

_Lorelai paced in the diner, hand close to her chest. She had come to the diner for a cup of coffee and they ended up bitching about their failed relationships. What the hell almost happened? Would she have kissed him? Did he want to kiss her? She wasn't so sure. Way too many drinks tonight._

_Luke return with the beers. She was lying on the floor and he sat down next to her._

"_Truth or Dare?" She asked. He was confused, they were done with this game. "Truth."_

"_Did you just try to kiss me?"_

"_Yes." No sense lying, she would know. "Truth or Dare?"_

"_Dare." Lorelai wasn't sure why she responded with a dare. She was still trying to digest what Luke just said. _

"_I dare you to kiss me."_

* * *

"Um, I burned it on the toaster this morning." _Bad lie, Lorelai. He's going to see right through that._

"You made toast this morning?" Luke didn't believe a word she just said. It was entirely possible that it happened the other night, but she didn't remember. Hell, he couldn't even tell if the dream was real.

"No, uh, it was a pop tart."

"But, you ate breakfast here this morning, with Rory." _Oh God, he knows I'm lying!_

"That was pre-breakfast." _Good cover, you might get him on this. _He let go of her hand and allowed her to deal.

"That's an odd angle to get a burn from the toaster." _Damn!_

"Ok, the name of the game is five card draw. Tens are wild."

Luke smiled, and picked up his cards. _She doesn't know._

* * *

It was late, and Lorelai decided it was time to go when Luke yawned. She gathered up her stuff and turned toward Luke.

"Thanks for keeping me company. I should probably get home. This was fun."

"Yeah, it was," Luke said, slightly disappointed, but not showing it. "We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah, I'm going to be lonely for six whole weeks. I could use the company."

"Okay, we'll make plans later."

"Sounds good." Luke walked her to the door, and turned off the lights.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai said, a light bulb going off inside of her head, "You said that you had never seen Casablanca the other night. Rory is gone, and Sookie will still be on her honeymoon. Do you want to have a movie night with me. We usually have them on Fridays," _That wasn't asking him out, was it? It's casual, between two friends. Just like tonight. The only problem is, Luke and I have never hung out like this._

"Yeah, okay. That sounds like a plan. Want me to bring some food?" He was a little surprised that Lorelai had asked him over like that without wanting something fixed. They had grown closer lately, so it was starting not to seem that unusual.

"YES!" She said a little too loudly.

"Okay, I'll see you on Friday then."

"Yes, Friday. Or before then, because, let's face it. A girl's gotta eat and drink coffee."

"Oh, yeah," Luke said, chuckling uncomfortably, "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said. Luke held open the door for her. She tried to walk out, but forgot about the slight step and nearly fell. Luke caught her by the arm and she laughed.

"You okay?" He asked, laughing slightly.

"Me? Yeah, fine, good. See you tomorrow."

"Night Lorelai."

"Goodnight Luke."

* * *

**A/N: I really don't have time for a long one, since I should be writing my paper. I at least have it all outlined out, so I just need to fill in the blanks. I am such a procrastinator! Hope you liked the slightly more L/L action. Anyway, I really did win all that money. Still hording it until I decide what to spend it on. Has anyone else preordered Season 5 yet? My cousin and I usually do that, then watch it together when I come home for the weekend. Reviews/ criticism/ suggestions welcome and wanted.**


	6. Bubbles are Band Aids for Bad Days

**A/N: Well, ladies and gents, I'm back. Paper is turned in, and I can finally focus more attention on my story. This chapter is dedicated to Curt, a boy I don't know, but, thanks to the story from** orangesherbert7** , has become my procrastinating hero. Also, I dedicate this to **gilmoregirlsfanatic **just because I loved your review, babe!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Bubbles are Band-Aids for Bad Days**

Lorelai discovered a hidden talent as she managed to open her front door with her elbows, hands full of books, papers, magazines, and Al's. It was Friday evening, around 6:30, and she had the most horrible day. It started off with her alarm not going off when it was supposed to. She was nearly late to work and had no time to stop by Luke's to get some coffee. Once at the inn, Michel being more of an ass than normal, complaining about one thing or another, and then being rude to the guests. Sookie's temporary chef screwed up the menu and had a panic attack in the kitchen. After having him breathe into a paper sack, Lorelai made the freaked chef go home and had to make do with the rest of the kitchen crew. Nobody had thought to make coffee, and Lorelai had more crap to deal with than time to make a cup. To top it off, she was planning a wedding for Bridezilla, with Momenstein cheering her on, both thorns in her coffee deprived side. Any idea that Lorelai came up with was never good enough. Michel and the two women would have made quite a combo that day. She had brought several wedding books and magazines home with her to give her inspiration, but had a sinking feeling that this wedding would be the death of her. Christopher had called at the inn a total of three times, causing Michel to hurl a number of profanities as he handed her messages and nagged about personal calls at work. Finally, she was home and all she could think about was taking a long soak in the tub, followed by a pot of coffee and a night of mindless television. Maybe even a quick call to Rory…

* * *

Meanwhile, at the diner, Luke was pulling together a few things for his movie night with Lorelai. He wasn't going to lie to himself; he was a little excited about spending the evening with her. Everyday, he felt himself growing closer and closer to Lorelai as they bantered and chatted. He never had this kind of relationship with a woman, not even with any of his old girlfriends. Not even with Rachel. Hell, he never had this kind of friendship with another man. With Lorelai, things were different. Luke felt like he could tell her anything and she would not think any less of him. Something had definitely changed that drunken night, almost a week ago now. He was starting to remember more and more, but wasn't sure if he should say anything to Lorelai yet.

After placing the food in the sack, he made sure that Caesar and Jess had everything under control and began to walk away. Before coming to the door, he remembered that Lorelai hadn't been into the diner that morning and had missed her coffee. Just in case, he filled a to-go cup and left the diner to the capable hands of his two employees.

* * *

Ignoring the blinking light of the answering machine and dumping all her junk on the desk, Lorelai took her dinner into the kitchen to see what sort of surprise Al had in store for her today. It was Grab Bag Night, a festive event filled with questionable smells and textures. Opening up her take-out container, her nostrils were overwhelmed with a powerful stench. _Indian food…gross_. If Rory had been there, she would have traded with her Indian-food loving daughter. But, she was constantly reminded of her daughter's absence and tossed the container into the trash. After making a quick sweep of the kitchen, she discovered nothing edible. _Maybe I could go to Luke's after my bath. I didn't get my coffee/sarcastic diner mans fix today. Maybe we could have another card game._

Lorelai made her mind up about going to Luke's and wandered upstairs, taking off her shoes and stockings as she went. She started up the bathtub, dumping an enormous glob of Mr. Bubble into her water. _Today definitely warrants an extra dose of bubbles._ After stripping out of the rest of her clothes, she slid into the warm water and sighed. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she allowed her toes to play with the running water, and put them to good use when it was time to turn off the facet. Lorelai was surrounded by a wonderland a bubbles, which usually carried every bad thought away until her mind was a complete blank. Today, however, was different. Instead on focusing on all the little things that went wrong, her mind just went to one crazy thought; Luke. Every time she had a free moment, she reluctantly went back to him. _What happened that night? Why can I only remember traces of things? Was that dream real or fake? Did I almost kiss Luke when I was drunk? Did I want to kiss Luke? How else could I explain the burn on my hand? Gah, so many inconsistencies! Where is the line drawn?_

Opening her eyes, Lorelai once again examined the burn scar on her left hand. It was starting to fade now. _Strange. _Without warning, she felt as if she was transported to her "dream."

* * *

_Luke went back behind the curtain to grab more beers. After she made sure he was gone, Lorelai paced the diner, hand close to her chest. She had come to the diner for a cup of coffee and they ended up bitching about their failed relationships. What the hell almost happened? Would she have kissed him? Did he want to kiss her? She wasn't so sure. Way too many drinks tonight. She needed something cool on her head. Still not thinking straight, she laid down on the floor. _

_Luke returned with the beers and sat down next her. The kajillion thoughts running around in her head made her heart pound. Luke was like a stone, his face emotionless as he handed her a beer. She had to know what he was thinking. Then, when she knew what was in his mind, she could gauge her own thoughts accordingly._

"_Truth or Dare?" She asked. He looked confused, but answered. "Truth."_

"_Did you just try to kiss me?"_

"_Yes." Oh God! Heart was beating faster. It was so loud in her ears that she could've sworn Luke heard it too. "Truth or Dare?"_

"_Dare." Lorelai wasn't sure why she responded with a dare. She was still trying to digest what Luke just said. _

"_I dare you to kiss me."_

* * *

Lorelai jolted up to a sitting position in the tub, heart ramming in her ribcage. _Was that another dream?_ She attempted to breathe normally, but it came out in gasps. All week, she had tried to convince herself that the dream from the other night was, in fact, a dream. _Did this, whatever it was, prove otherwise? I'm so confused…_She brought her hands up to her temples and rubbed. Her breath caught in her throat when she heard her front door slam shut.

Now her heart was beating again, only now because of fear. _It's not Rory, because, duh, she's in Washington. Sookie, back early maybe?_

"Sook?" she called. Silence. _Could be Babette, she's been checking up on me all week?_

"Babette?" She heard shuffling downstairs and a voice. A man's voice. Definitely not Babette's. "Lorelai?" the voice called back to her.

"Luke? Is that you?"

"Lorelai? Where are you?"

"In my room. What are you doing here?"

"I thought we were watching Casablanca tonight. I brought the food."

Lorelai's hand smacked her forehead. _Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot! I was really looking forward to this last night…_"Oh my God, Luke, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. I'll be downstairs in a sec. Make yourself comfy. Whatever you do, don't come up here."

Lorelai jumped as carefully and gracefully as she could out of the now bubble-less tub. She wrapped herself in a towel, mentally cursing herself for forgetting about their movie night. _We just talked about it yesterday. How could I forget? I can't believe I forgot! I feel terrible. _She walked to her bedroom door that she hadn't bothered to shut earlier, quietly closed it, and dug out panties and a bra from the open dresser drawer.. Lorelai found the first comfortable looking clothes on the floor and slid into jeans and a black t-shirt. She snorted when she looked down. She was wearing a Bon Jovi concert shirt. _That's funny! 'Livin' on a Prayer' has been stuck in my head all week._

Once dressed, Lorelai practically ran down the stairs and nearly collided with Luke, still standing near the entrance to her living room. He reacted fast and reached for her elbow to balance her.

"Luke, Gah! I almost killed myself!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I am sooooo sorry about tonight. I can't believe I forgot about our movie night. I had a hellish day at work, and I know that's not a great excuse, but it completely slipped my mind."

"If you want, we could just do this later. I don't want to interrupt your plans." Luke was frowning, still clutching the bag of food. _Does it mean something when she says she forgot? I have always been terrible at getting into a woman's head. Now, Lorelai's head, that's not a place where I would like to spend a lot of time…_

"Nonsense, Luke, you just interrupted my pity bath. Please, please, please stay. I was really looking forward to introducing you to classic Bogy." She looked down at the bag in his hand, "And you brought food. Aw, you do remember some things about me." She took the bag out of his hand and made her way to the kitchen, not checking to see if Luke followed. _Did I just make myself sound incredibly desperate back there? I could really use his company tonight, but I mean, come on! Get a grip, Lorelai._

As a way of accepting Lorelai's seemingly genuine request to stay, he grabbed the small bag he had hidden in the hall and followed her into the kitchen She was furiously opening cupboards, looking for God only knows what, Luke's bag abandoned on the table.

"I'm sorry; I forgot to buy food on the way home. So, the only edible thing in my kitchen is your food."

"No problem, I probably wouldn't touch the junk you bought anyway."

"Who said you would be allowed to eat any of it," Lorelai said, showing him her best scowl. Obviously not waiting for a reaction or comment from him, she anxiously dug her hands into the plastic bag, producing four Styrofoam containers. Not quite satisfied with its contents, she gave Luke a pouty expression.

"No coffee?"

"No, it'll kill you someday."

"You always say that, you need to come up with something different." Lorelai then noticed the bag in Luke's hand and raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Salad dressing," he said quickly, putting the bag behind his back.

"I don't believe you."

"See for yourself," he told her, handing over the bag. Luke didn't lie; there was salad dressing. Next to it, however, was a steaming to-go cup."

"Luke," she said with the most serious expression she could muster, "You have never looked more beautiful to me then you do right now." Luke rolled his eyes and grabbed the containers from the table, taking them into the living room. Lorelai smiled and grabbed a beer from the fridge for Luke. He had set the food down on the coffee table, and reviewed the selection of movies she had placed on the DVD player.

"There's more than just Casablanca here."

"Well, this is post-Casablanca flicks for your viewing pleasure. All starring Humphrey Bogart." She sat down on the couch and Luke placed Casablanca in the DVD player. Lorelai was slightly surprised that he knew how to work it, but then she remembered that she made him hook it up long ago. She opened all the containers and Luke took a seat on the end of the couch, remote in hand.

"What's _To Have and Have Not_? That sounds familiar."

"Oh," Lorelai said, nearly choking on her coffee, "Only my favorite Bogy/Bacall movie. You know how to whistle, don't you, Luke?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Never mind. What's that green stuff?"

"Salad. It's mine."

"Clearly." Lorelai handed him the beer, and took an enormous bite out of her burger.

"I got you a nice, cold beer," she said with her mouth full.

"Appreciate it and that's disgusting." Lorelai smiled, showing off some of her food, and Luke turned his body away. She swallowed and began to get serious about movie night.

"Okay. You are one click away from _Casablanca_."

"Okay, I'll start it up."

"No, whoa, whoa, whoa." She said rather loudly, snatching the remote from his hands. It was time to explain the rules. "We need to get situated. Are you all situated?"

"I'm situated."

"You need to, like, squish around a little?"

"I don't need to," he said gruffly, wondering what was going through her head, even though he really didn't want to know.

"Come on, squish around a little bit."

"I'm fine how I am."

"Okay, but, uh, you can't squish during the movie because it's distracting. That's rule number one."

_Jeez, here it comes… _"There's rules?"

"Oh, yeah, especially for a true classic like _Casablanca_. It's not like we're watching a there's-nothing-else-on movie or a guilty pleasure like _Hardbodies_. Oh, my God. Have you seen _Hardbodies_?"

"I don't think so."

"Three middle-aged guys rent a beach house and they hire this young local stud to introduce them to cute girls, a.k.a. _Hardbodies_" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Let's see that" he stated nonchalantly, munching on his salad.

"No, Luke," she rolled her eyes; "We're seeing _Casablanca_."

"Then let's see that."

"Okay, the rest of the rules - no talking during the movie. No exceptions during a true classic. And minimize distraction. You know, no shifting around a lot, no phone calls, nothing. No going to the bathroom. If you go, you miss the movie 'cause we're not pausing the movie. That's the only way to get the flow of the thing, okay?"

"Fair enough," he agreed, knowing he would probably get kicked out if he argued.

"Okay. Here we go. Play it, Sam" Lorelai said, handing him the remote. When she just received a stare in return, she just pressed play herself. The movie began, and Lorelai wished that the DVD player would let her fast forward through the FBI warning.

"What's that?" Luke asked, against his better judgment. Lorelai sneered at him and pressed the pause button.

"Okay, um. . .A, um, no talking during the movie, and B, don't tell me you've never seen the FBI warning before."

"It's new to me."

"Oh, my God. You're beyond monk. You're uber-monk."

"Just start it up. I won't talk again."

"Okay, just one more warning - when they showed the first motion picture over a hundred years ago, it featured a train rushing toward the camera, and, um, people were so sure the train was going to burst off the screen and crush them that they ran away in terror. Now, Luke," she said in a patronizing tone, to add dramatic emphasis:the train is not going to leave the screen…" She waved her arms, remote in hand, as she emphasized each point. Luke had enough.

"Hit the button."

"Okay."

* * *

An hour and fifteen broken rules later, Luke was starting on his second beer and Lorelai was glaring at him for slightly moving. Apparently, Lorelai could break the rules, but he couldn't. A few minutes after the opening credits rolled, Lorelai pushed pause, ignoring Luke's grunts of protest, and meandered into the kitchen for a beer. Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang and Lorelai talked to Rory for ten minutes. He was content just keeping to himself during the conversation, but Lorelai insisted that he be an active part of chat. Twenty minutes after she hung up, Lorelai pushed pause again to go to the bathroom. _That's Lorelai for you…_

Now, as he nursed his beer, Luke couldn't help but notice Lorelai staring and smiling at him with his peripheral vision. He was starting to get irritated because Lorelai would turn to look at him right before something important happened.

"Stop doing that." Luke finally commanded, fed up.

"Shh, no talking."

"Then stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Looking at me."

"Vain party, table for one."

"You know what I mean. You're watching me watch the movie. It's creepy."

"I enjoy watching people watch certain parts of certain movies."

"But you look over just before something big happens, so I always know something's coming."

"Oh, I do?"

"You did it just before Humphrey Bogart saw Ingrid Bergman for the first time."

"Well, she's the costar. You knew something was coming."

With that, Lorelai rewound the tape and fought the urge to watch Luke enjoy the movie. _At least, I think he's enjoying the movie. He would be complaining if he didn't. _She liked sharing this with Luke and she could tell that behind his irritated expression, he was enjoying it too.

"Bogy certainly has a lot of appeal," She said randomly.

"You're talking"

"Oh come on, rules were made to be broken."

"You are breaking your own rules. What's the point of even having them?"

"Well, you can't have a great institute without rules. Otherwise, there's mass chaos."

"You make absolutely no sense." They were silent again, and Luke felt bad for breaking up the conversation. "Yeah, I guess he does have some appeal. Has a good hold on that Ingrid Bergman."

Lorelai smiled, glad that he was going to break the rules to talk, "I think he's a great mystery. You never know what he's going to do next. One minute you think you know everything bout him, and the next, he takes you by surprise. One great mystery."

"I've always been too 'by the book' to be mysterious." Lorelai, who had just took a sip of her beer, began to cough wildly. Luke patted her back and her breath came in gasps.

"You okay?"

"Yeah _cough _I'm good. _Cough cough _You _cough _hilarious!"

"What?"

Lorelai's breath calmed and she giggled, "You just said you were 'by the book.' I couldn't begin to figure you out if I tried."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am. You seem like an average Joe, but deep down, you are mysterious Mister."

"You are one to talk."

"Me?" Lorelai said innocently, with a laugh, "Well, I guess you're right."

They both took a drink of their beer and tried to watch the rest of the movie. Luke, however, couldn't concentrate. He was curious. He always just assumed that he was average, generic. It was strange to him that anyone would think different.

"What is it," he finally asked, trying not to sound anxious, "That makes me mysterious?" Lorelai got an evil grin on her face.

"This is really bothering you, isn't it?"

_She's got me. Damn! _"I was just wondering. It's not like it's a life or death situation." Lorelai was still smiling at him and it was unnerving. He hated that she had that effect on him sometimes.

"You really want to know?"

"If you are willing to disclose, why not?"

It was starting to become a game to Lorelai, and she was competitive. She could tell that Luke really wanted to know why she considered him to be mysterious. The truth was, Lorelai wasn't sure if she could sum up her thoughts and form words. It could come out in a jumbled mess, leaving Luke more confused than when she suggested the original idea. Perhaps she could distract Luke long enough that he would get frustrated with her and let her have her way. Like she thought before, it was all a game.

"You sure?"

"Lorelai," he groaned. He knew she was trying to make this into a game, and he was too curious to be playful.

"Okay, okay, fine, I'll tell you. But, keep in mind that this has never been said out loud so I may have trouble getting the words out."

"Shoot."

"Okay. Like you said, you are a 'by the book guy.' You live by a particular routine. You get up every morning and go to bed every night around the same time. You open and close the diner everyday."

"I don't see how that makes me a mystery."

"Hmmm, so I established that you live by a particular routine. You are a hermit and anti-social."

"I'm waiting for this to become a compliment." He said, slightly annoyed.

"I'm getting there. Stop interrupting."

"Fine, please continue."

"Thank you. As I was saying, you are run by your routine, which makes it seem like we know everything about you. We've been friends for, what, five or six years, right?"

"Something like that."

"So, I have been your friend for awhile now, and you would think I would know everything about you. I know your routines and I know you live by yourself." Lorelai felt like she was getting no where, trying to dig out a point from deep within her brain. She kept repeating the same stuff over and over again.

"I believe you established that."

"Right. So…uh…Because I know those things about you, you would think that you would be very predictable to me. Like, every morning I would come into the diner and know exactly what you are going to say and how you are going to react."

"But…" _This is becoming interesting._

"But, you aren't. You are anything but predictable. You think fast. You can keep up with my comments and you manage to surprise me at times."

"Really?" He asked, his expression softening.

"Yeah. And then, one might see you as this gruff, grumpy dude, but then you go off and surprise me again. I mean, you brought ice to my daughter's birthday party and built her bookshelves. You made me a Santa burger and drove me to the hospital when my dad was there. You played cards with me when I had a bad date and talked to me about marriage when I wasn't ready to think about it. You, annoyed diner man, built me a chuppah when I was getting married. You took your nephew and cared for him as your own, even when everyone, me included, thought you couldn't do it. Then, when I am horrible to you and practically damn you to hell, you find it in your heart to forgive. I walked into your diner, a holy wreck, and you poured me a cup of coffee and you forgave me." Lorelai took a big breath when she was finished, not knowing how she managed to get all that out in one setting. _WOW. I started a lot of sentences with 'you.'_

It was nearly overwhelming to Luke to hear all those things come out of her mouth. All he could manage to say was, "Wow. I never-wow."

"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting for the conversation to go this way." She paused, leaning her side against the couch with her head resting on the cushion, facing Luke. Luke did the same, turning to look at her.

* * *

"_I dare you to kiss me." Luke said simply. He didn't know what possessed him. The sound of those words coming out of his mouth shocked him. When he realized the extent of what he just proposed, he took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly uncomfortable._

_Lorelai's eyes widened. Did he just say what she thought she heard? Did Luke Danes, master of the monosyllable, avoider of the awkward, just ask her to kiss him. Oh my God._

_Luke couldn't think straight. The alcohol was finally getting to him. Say something Danes, anything!_

"_What did I just say?" He asked, glad that he wasn't looking at her._

"_I think you just dared me to kiss you."_

"_Okay, that's what I thought I heard come out of my mouth. Sorry, I take it back."_

"_You can't take back a dare. That's against the rules."_

"_Since when are there rules? You said the 'sky's the limit' earlier."_

"_Luke, these are basic Truth or Dare rules. When someone dares you to do something, you have to do it. You can't take it back." Lorelai was starting to fidget uncomfortably. Was she really suggesting that she go through with it? What is going on?_

_Luke turned to her finally, "Lorelai, I don't know what come over me earlier, by the sink, and I don't know why I said what I said, but you don't have to do it, any of it."_

_Lorelai was confused, her mind running a mile a minute. One minute she was wondering what it would be like to kiss Luke and the next she was freaking out over it. One minute she thought Luke wanted to kiss her, but now she wasn't so sure. One minute she was ready to take him up on his dare and then she wanted chicken out. She sat up, not sure of what she was doing, nerves causing her hands to shake slightly. Luke saw her rise, eyebrows raised in a question, wondering if she was doing what he thought she was doing. Wondering why he was suddenly moving closer to her._

_They were closer now, both becoming more nervous by the second. Both minds running rampant. Both hearts beating furiously. Luke cautiously lifted his hand, tucking her loose hair behind her ear. He hair was soft, unnerving Luke. She closed her eyes for a bit, opening them again to look straight into his eyes. She was breathing hard, he had a strange effect on her. _

"_What are we doing here?" Luke asked, allowing his hand to come up and touch her face again, thumb slightly rubbing her cheek._

"_I, um, I don't know." She couldn't concentrate. All she could think about was Luke's hand on her face, making her come unglued. She wanted to kiss him. Now there was no question._

_Luke's hand slowly made its way to her lips. He was too damn nervous to go any faster. He leaned in closer to her face, thumb now rubbing under her lip. He brushed her nose gently with his own nose, causing chills to go up her spine. It seemed like he was going to do it. Luke was really going to kiss her._

_His lips had nearly touched Lorelai's, when a voice broke the silence, causing the couple to break a part again._

"_I'm going out again. I'll be back in an hour." Luke broke his intense gaze with Lorelai as Jess made his way across the diner. He grabbed his abandoned beer and took a long swig. Lorelai couldn't will herself to move. _

"_Jeez, get a room you two," Jess stated sarcastically, walking out the door. Lorelai grabbed her beer and finished it off. They weren't going to talk about what just happened, or almost happened. They had lost their nerve. They were just going to get really drunk, maybe forget that it ever happened..._

* * *

"I guess what I am trying to say is that one minute, I think I know you like a friend should. But, then you go and do something totally unexpected and incredibly sweet. And, I am just mystified. You are a mystery to me, Luke Danes."

"Huh," Luke said, and then scolded himself for sounding like Jess. "Okay, that makes sense then." _I never knew she thought so highly of me. _

"Okay," Lorelai said with a smile.

* * *

They talked more, for more than an hour. The movie was long forgotten. They talked about Rory and Jess, then the inn and the diner. Thy brought up favorite Stars Hollow moments and discussed the oddities of certain Stars Holloweeans. Particularly, Kirk. She would laugh, and he would smirk. _This is nice, _she couldn't help thinking. _Why don't we do this more often?_

The TV screen was blue and there was a lull in the conversation. They were still in the same position, facing each other, but not looking in each other's eyes right then. _I haven't talked to her about the other night in awhile. Should I ask?_

"How are you?" He asked, hoping she would catch the deeper context of the statement. She turned her blue eyes back to him upon hearing his voice.

"In general?"

"More specific actually."

"You can just say that you are asking about the whole Christopher, we got drunk together, thingy."

Luke shrugged. "Something like that."

She took a breath, "I'm doing good. I can honestly say that. That night helped a lot, talking to you and just being with you. Then talking to Rory helped as well. I'm still not taking his calls. I'm trying to see how long it takes him to take a hint." She added with a laugh. Luke seemed satisfied with that answer. He kept going back to that night, the infamous night that he called "that night" in his head. He knew that before then, she might've lied to him about how she was truly feeling. Things changed that night and he could be certain that she wasn't trying to hide from him anymore. The tough exterior was gone and the Wonder Woman mask was off. Lorelai wasn't afraid to be Lorelai in front of him now.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts. He returned eye contact, faces slightly closer than before.

"Shoot."

"Are you starting to remember things from the other night?" Lorelai felt nervous asking him. She had been given glimpses into their night in the form of her dream and her flashback in the bath tub. _What if Luke remembered more? What if he didn't remember anything._

"A little. Bits and pieces." _Should I tell her what I remember? Should I tell her about my dream and how I don't think it was a dream anymore?_

"Call me crazy," she confessed, voice conveying all seriousness, "I think my burn was from that night."

"I remember that now."

"Is that why you asked me about it when we were playing cards?"

"Pretty much, I wasn't sure if it was real or if I had just dreamed it. After I saw the scar, I pretty much knew."

Lorelai's breath was ragged, there was more she wanted to say, more things that she remembered in the bath tub. She wasn't sure if she should.

"We played Truth or Dare." She said, playing it safe.

"You sang a very drunk rendition of 'Livin' on a Prayer. Nice shirt by the way." Lorelai laughed.

"Thanks, and those drunk songs are never planned."

Luke kept vacillating between whether he should bring up the 'almost kiss' or not. It was clear to him now, no longer surrounded by a drunken haze. It had happened twice; that is, almost happened twice. _We were drunk. It didn't mean anything. I don't want to screw this up._

Lorelai rose up on her elbow, neck resting on her hand. She needed to be Wonder Woman. She just needed to suck it up and say what happened.

"We were pretty drunk. Ii was strange because I always remember stuff."

"Yeah, we were."

"Luke," she said, letting out air sharply. She needed to say it quickly, before she lost her nerve. Her mask of bravado. "I thinkwealmoskissd."

"What?"

"I said, I think we almost kissed."

He paused, slightly glad she had brought it up first. "I think you are right."

"You remember too?"

"Starting to."

"What do we do, now that we remember?"

"Lorelai," he said, rising to her level, "We are friends. We were drunk. I don't want this to get in the way of _this_."

"Me neither," she said with a sigh of relief. Luke smiled at her and she grinned back. It felt good to talk about it with him, even though some things were still unresolved. Lorelai was also frustrated. She could remember some things, core things, but no little details. She had wanted to kiss him that night, she knew that now. But, the details were still fuzzy. _What does that mean?_

A strand of hair came loose and fell into Lorelai's eyes. Before Luke knew what he was doing, his hand moved to fix it. It was such a familiar feeling. It was such an overwhelming feeling. Her eyes softened as Luke's hand lingered longer. He knew he should move and stop, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Most of all, Lorelai didn't try to stop him. He wasn't thinking, his thumb absently rubbed her face.

"What are we doing?" Lorelai asked, saying a phrase that was strangely familiar to her.

"Hell if I know." And Luke leaned in close, brushing her nose, giving her chills.

RING. The shrill beep of the phone caused Lorelai to move back and look at Luke. _Oh my God, oh my God! What are we doing? What did I just want to do?_

Luke got up quick, gathering the trash from the coffee table. Lorelai sat on the couch, not able to move, not even able to breathe. Luke had to keep himself busy in order to think. _What did I almost do? Didn't I just say I didn't want to ruin our friendship? Didn't we just agree not to let what we did while we were drunk get in the way of our relationship? Dammit Danes, you need to think about this!_

The phone continued to ring; no one made an effort to get it. The answering machine picked up, Lorelai's voice saying something cute and funny. Then Christopher's voice filled the room:

"Look, Lore. I can't stop thinking about what happened. I'm sorry. I really screwed you over this time. I can't sleep at night. I just need to talk to you and make this righ-"

BEEP, message deleted. Luke approached her, not sure what to what to do or say.

"It's late, I should probably go."

"Okay," she said quietly. This was too much. First she tried to screw things up with Luke, and the Christopher called. Her head started to hurt. Very bad day.

"Thanks for the movie," he said politely, "I'll see you later?"

He posed this as a question, not sure what would happen next. She nodded hesitantly and walked him to the door. Luke kept inwardly cursing himself for what happened, for what he almost did. _I keep saying I don't want to screw this up. What the hell am I doing?_

They said their goodnights, and Lorelai leaned her back against the door until she heard Luke's truck pull out of the driveway. She didn't know what to do. She didn't even know what to think. Everything was so muddled, and she hated that she had wanted Luke to kiss her. Grabbing the phone, she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She needed to talk to her daughter, the one friendship she couldn't screw up. Then again, she was tired all of as sudden. Tuning off the lights and taking off her jeans, she decided to call Rory tomorrow, when she had slept on it. _After all, tomorrow is another day._

* * *

**A/N: WOW, I made this chapter uber long (got my roommate saying uber now, hehehehe). Sorry about that. I guess this makes up for not having enough time to write earlier this week. I like to include little moments from the show when they are so perfect that I could never write anything to rival them. Thus, I included Luke and Lorelai's movie night from Season 4. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I don't think I say this enough, but I love reviewers! Truly, truly, truly I do.**

**I am waiting for a great inspiration on where I should take the next chapters. If you have any ideas, please let me know. I'm also trying not to make this too corny, but I love a good fluff story. Let me know when the romance stuff gets sickening and I'll tone it down. I value all your opinions, the good, the bad, and the ugly (who am I kidding? You guys are all good).**

**I'll briefly bring up Tuesday's episode. Glad the Lorelai/Rory banter is back. Luke better tell Lorelai soon, but the spoilers aren't looking promising. Anyone else think that there's something else wrong with Zack other than the whole jealousy thing? Can't wait til January!**


	7. The Art of Avoidance

**A/N: Holy cow! Chapter 7! Lucky number 7… I am happy to report that the muses returned to me and I was able to write this chapter. Therefore, I dedicate this chapter to **Marcel-Marceau-chicken **because I like your name and your reviews and** Chitosi **for opening a fanfiction account just to write a review for this story. Love you both, I mean it! Now, on with the show…**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Art of Avoidance**

Luke didn't get a decent night's sleep. All night, he tossed and turned, sheets tangled in his legs and wet with sweat. He dreamed of her. He dreamed of kissing her. He dreamed of holding her in his arms. One of the dreams ended with Luke actually believing that she was in bed next to him. _I must be going nuts! _He hated the way he just left Lorelai's house without talking and without explanation. He wasn't thinking straight. Hell, he still wasn't thinking straight. _I don't know how I'm going to get any work done today_. Luke turned over on his side to look at the alarm. 5:15. He groaned and turned back on his back. Bluish light came through the window panes. It was time to get up.

Luke reluctantly got out of bed and made his way over to the refrigerator. He scratched his head as he pulled out the jug of orange juice. For the first time in a long while, he didn't want to work. Luke knew that no matter what, he couldn't bury his mixed up thoughts in cooking. He needed to talk to Lorelai, but he didn't know what to say. Unfortunately, he was the owner, so he couldn't just call in sick. _I could close for the day. _

_And do what…_ One side of his brain taunted the other. He sat down at his table and sipped his orange juice, resting his head on his right hand. He couldn't just wander around Stars Hollow. The whole town, even the diner, reminded him of Lorelai, and he needed a place where he could rationally think about the "almost kiss." _You could go fishing. That's an interesting idea. _He would be away from the town, alone on the water. The lake always cleared his thoughts. It certainly worked a few weeks ago. He was able to think clearly about the fight and his guilt about sending Jess back to New York.

That was enough for him to make up his mind. As quiet as possible, Luke showered, got dressed, and gathered his supplies. After he finished loading his truck, he went back upstairs and scribbled a note for Jess:

_Jess, I'm going fishing. I'll come back tomorrow. The diner is closed until I come back. Stay out of trouble; I trust you.-Luke_

After making a sign for the diner, he locked up and drove away. Luke was not sure what power of his mind took over, but he drove by Lorelai's house. The lights were all off, she was probably still asleep. He would wait until later to talk to her.

* * *

Morning light streamed through Lorelai's lacy curtains. Her eyes fluttered as she came out of a deep sleep. Sighing, she turned to face her pink fuzzy alarm clock. 6:45. Lorelai moaned as she turned once again to lie on her back. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach. She couldn't put a finger on what it was, but dread filled her thoughts. Then, it hit her like a freight train; she had almost kissed Luke! Sure, it had happened before, but they were drunk. Very drunk. Last night, she only had one beer, Luke had two. Definitely normal. Their thought processes were sane. Luke had almost kissed her and she wanted him to. That scared her the most. There was no going back to sleep now.

After another reluctant moan, Lorelai got out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She started up the shower, silently making up her mind to go to Luke's. They needed to talk about what happened. She needed coffee. Sure, she had no idea what to say or how to respond to any pointed questions. Lorelai figured that the shower would help her sort out her fuzzy thoughts. Water had that effect on her.

_Okay, Gilmore. Time to rationalize. First, you must admit to yourself what happened. You almost kissed Luke. You really wanted to kiss him. Why? Hmmm, tough question. Do you have feelings for Luke? Maybe. Are you attracted to Luke? I think so. I don't think I would want to kiss him if I wasn't attracted to him. He's good-looking. What's he got cooking? How 'bout he cooks something up for me? DIRTY! Focus, Lorelai! Do you want to date Luke? I don't know. I mean, we are friends. That's the way it's always been. Could I cross that line with Luke? Once we date, there's no going back. If we break up, we can't be friends any more. None of my relationships have ever worked out that way. Just look at Chris and Max. Okay, whoa, scary thought. Damn, I still don't have any answers. I guess I'll just have to wing it._

Trying not to think about the matter at hand, Lorelai got dressed and did her hair. She decided to walk to Luke's, thinking the trek might help her organize her thoughts. On the way, she rehearsed ways to bring up the topic. _Luke, we need to talk…no, way too generic. Hey, wanna hear a funny story? Last night you and I almost ki-…no, not a good way to go about that. Let's see…Luke, do you mind if we talk about last night? I don't think that'll work either. Can I have some coffee? Let's talk. Blech, I don't like that at all. Jeez, this is hard._

Lorelai hadn't been focusing on what she was doing while she was thinking. Before she knew it, she was at Luke's. The blinds were still closed, but she walked up to the door and tugged. It didn't budge. She pulled again. Nothing. _That's odd. _Then she saw the sign. _Gone Fishing. Oh, my God. What does that mean? Is he trying to avoid me?_

All the work she had done to clear her thoughts suddenly vanished and she was in a haze. She walked to the inn, not thinking about the distance. She ignored Michel's comments about her being early. She just stepped behind the desk and attempted to bury herself in reservations, phone calls, and party planning. _I don't know what to think anymore. Why did Luke leave?_

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. "Independence Inn, this is Lorelai. How can I help you?"

* * *

Luke silently sat on the bass boat in the middle of the small lake. This fishing hole had been a favorite of his father's. He had been here so many times that he knew all of its secrets. Today, he just sat, fishing pole untouched. His eyes grazed the surface of the water, thoughts running a mile a minute.

_Lorelai. I almost kissed Lorelai. I semi-soberly almost kissed Lorelai. Why? State the facts, Danes. Am I attracted to her? Sure, she's beautiful. I've always felt something for her, even if I pushed it to the back of my mind all these years. Why admit this now? I don't know. Do I want to date Lorelai? Maybe. I don't know. I mean, it would be nice. Lorelai is, well, amazing. I would be lucky to be with her. And being closer to Rory is an added bonus. But, I can't just date her. If I'm with Lorelai, I am WITH Lorelai. I have to be in, all in. Am I ready to do that? _Luke didn't have more answers then when he started. He was just as confused. Determined, he picked up his fishing pole and baited his line. He would try to think this through later.

* * *

Sunday morning, Lorelai walked through the town on her way to Weston's. Luke wasn't back yet. She felt relieved, considering she still didn't know what to say to him when she did see him. Suddenly, she was spooked by a rustling in the bushes and nearly ran straight into Jess.

"Oh my God, Jess. You scared me to death."

"Yeah, well, follow through has never been one of my strong points." _Huh, that was actually funny. The punk made a joke. I should put that away and use it later. Couldn't admit to where I got it from though. _She started to walk away, and then got the urge to ask Jess about Luke.

"Uh, Jess. Luke went fishing, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know why?"

"Nope." _I think Luke has competition for the master of the monosyllable._

"Well, okay, did he mention anything to you about last night?"

"Nope."

"Okay then, thanks for all your 'help.'" Lorelai turned to walk away, but sensed that Jess hadn't budged. The air around them felt uncomfortable.

"Uh, Lorelai?"

"Yeah Jess."

"How's Rory?"

"She's good. Busy, but good."

"Good, that's good." _Wow, this is the most he has said to me at once._

"So, okay then, bye."

"The kiss." Jess blurted out, and she whirled around on one foot to face him. _Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! He knows! How does he know? Did Luke tell him? I didn't think Luke told him anything about his personal life…_Lorelai brought her hand up to her face to almost hide behind it.

"Wow, uh, I don't know what to say. How did you-? Did Luke-?"

"I was there, and Luke knows?"

"Whoa, you were there? Oh yeah, you were there when we were drunk, but not last night. And, Luke was there, of course he knows."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" A look of confusion washed over Jess' face as he cocked his head to the side to stare at Lorelai.

"You aren't talking about last night, are you? What are you talking about?"

"Uh, Ror- I thought she would've told you. Never mind. It's not important. Bye."

"Okay, uh, bye Jess." _Well, that was a little weird. If he wasn't talking about Luke and I, what was he talking about? Hmmm, must ask Rory later. _

* * *

Luke's truck slowly weaved its way through the streets of Stars Hollow at dusk. He parked his truck in his normal spot. He smelled like fish. He needed a shower. Luke felt too weary to unload his truck right away. He just grabbed the ice chest of fish and made his way to the door. The only lights at his place came from upstairs. Luke still was unsure as to whether his trip was good for his thought process. One thing was certain, if he wanted to date Lorelai it would have to be a relationship. Unfortunately, Luke still didn't know whether he was ready to take that extra step with her. Saying a quick word of greeting to Jess, he slipped into the shower and went to bed early.

The next night, Luke was wiping off the counter after closing up for the night. He had caught Lorelai's eye as she stared into the diner that morning. Then, she broke contact and quickly walked away. He sighed, still so unsure as to what to do or say. Avoiding her was the easy way out, but they couldn't do that forever. One day, they would have to talk. He wasn't ready to give up on having a relationship with her, whether it was friendship or more then that.

* * *

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH LORELAI!" Sookie squealed as Lorelai walked into Sookie and Jackson's enclosed porch on Wednesday afternoon. Sookie jumped up from the porch swing and enveloped her best friend in a tight hug.

"Lorelai! I missed you so much. How have you been? Next time, I'm taking you and Rory on a trip with me because Jackson does not do girly things. Oooo, is Rory off to Washington? I bet she's going to come back even smarter."

"Whoa, Sook. Slooooow down. Let me get a good look at you." Lorelai cocked her head to the side and Sookie held out her hands and twirled around.

"You look gorgeous. Honeymoon must've been good. Tell me all about it!"

Sookie's face broke out in a huge grin and her cute dimples made many appearances as she excitedly talked about their trip. "I'm serious about you coming with me next time. Jackson is too macho farmer to do girly stuff like getting a massage."

"Hey!" Jackson called from the other room, "I went shopping with you!"

Lorelai raised one eyebrow and smiled at Sookie, who was rolling her eyes at her new husband. Then she dipped her head back and projected her voice into Sookie's living room. "Hey Jackson."

"Hey Lorelai."

"So," Sookie said in her high pitched voice, "We brought something back for you." She reached behind her and pulled out a bottle of nice, expensive wine, "I figured that you and Christopher could use it when you are being romantic. Oh, you guys give me chills!"

Lorelai's smile immediately dissipated as Sookie handed over the wine bottle. She had forgotten that Sookie didn't know.

"What?" Sookie asked with concern in her eyes. Lorelai sighed and sucked in a breath. "Uh, Sook, this wine is terrific. I know I'll use it. But…"

"Oh no, "Sookie said, reading Lorelai's mind, "But, not with Chris right?" Lorelai shook her head and was a little surprised when her throat started to constrict and tears formed in her eyes. She turned her head away as Sookie pulled her into another big hug. Lorelai was confused. Here she thought she was over Chris after everything that happened with Luke, and now she was crying over him once more. _Maybe taking to someone will help me decide some things about Luke and Chris. I mean, I've talked to Rory several times since Friday and I haven't told her anything. And, I did promise her I would talk to Sookie if I was overwhelmed._

"What happened?" Sookie asked and Lorelai told her everything. She told her about Sherry and why Chris had left. She told her about Christopher's numerous calls since. She told her about Rory's reaction and slight temper tantrum. She even confessed that her and Luke got drunk the night of her wedding.

"Oh wow. I'm never going out of town again, hon. I miss too much." Lorelai slightly smiled as the tears started to go away. "So you and Luke made up then. That's good. It's not fun when you guys fight. Though, the sexual tens-"

"What Sookie?"

"Nothing. It's good that Luke was here for you while Rory and I were gone."

"Well, not everything is as peachy between us as it was a few days ago."

"What do you mean?" Lorelai took deep breath and confessed everything that had transpired between her and Luke over the past couple of weeks, starting with the waking up in bed with him and ending with catching his eye at the diner on Monday morning. She didn't leave out one dream or flashback and Sookie tried to suppress a squeal or two as she told her about "almost kisses."

"So," Sookie asked, finally speaking, eyes sparkling, "Are you and Luke going to hook up?"

"I don't know. There's so much to think about and consider."

"Ooooo, Lorelai! I'm soo excited. Look at my hand, I'm shaking! Do you know how long I've waited for this to happen? How long I've waited for Luke to make a move on you?"

"Don't get too excited yet. I still don't know what I'm going to do."

"I can't help it, hon. I'm more excited about you and Luke then I was with you and Christopher."

"See, there's something to consider. I just got out of something hugely complicated with Chris. Am I ready to get into something with Luke? Do I even want to date Luke? I can't even sort out my feelings for him! And, what if we screwed everything up the other night? We haven't been able to even look each other in the eye since then. He went fishing! Gah, I'm so confused right now."

"Do you want to date Luke?"

"I already told you, I don't know."

"I think deep down you know. Lorelai, Luke is an amazing guy who has only had eyes for you since you stormed into his life. He would do anything for you. You would be so lucky to be with someone so dependable and caring."

"You've always said he had a thing for me, but I'm still not convinced. One moment, I'm looking into his eyes and I see it, everything you've always said. Then, he's Cool Hand Luke again, and I can't read him."

"Honey, he almost kissed you three times. I know I'm right here."

"Do I want to date Luke?" she asked Sookie, eyes pleading for an answer.

"You have to decide that, sweetie. I know it will be great, but I also know that you can't go into this lightly. Once you are with Luke, you are WITH Luke. You can't run because you will never have the same relationship with him ever again. Luke could be forever for you."

"I know. That scares me."

"That scared me about Jackson, but here we are." Lorelai gave Sookie a hug and got up from the swing, wine bottle in hand.

"I'm going home to take a bath and think some more."

"Okay Lorelai. Don't let what I said scare you away from an opportunity like this. Give it some thought. I'm here if you want to talk later."

"Thanks Sook," Lorelai said as she stood in the doorway of the porch.

"Any time."

* * *

It had been two weeks since the now infamous movie night at the Gilmore home. Two weeks since Luke had last seen Lorelai. Two weeks since Lorelai had last set foot in the diner. Two weeks since any of them had made an attempt to talk to each other. Two whole weeks since the "almost kiss."

At the diner, Luke grew more and more frustrated, and he vented his anger onto his customers with yelling and scowling. Miss Patty, Babette, Kirk, and Taylor were shocked at his behavior at first, but then noticed that Lorelai had stopped coming to the diner. It wasn't hard for them to connect the two related events. The rumors going around town speculated that Lorelai and Luke had gotten into another fight. Taylor thought it was because Jess was back, but that notion didn't make sense to Patty. Jess had been back for a week before the "second fight," and Lorelai had been to the diner several times in between then. Babette remembered seeing Luke's truck outside Lorelai's house the night before he went fishing again. He had stayed late. No one could put a finger on what had triggered the mutual avoidance between the two friends. It was all just speculation. Something had to be done.

* * *

The usual town meeting was scheduled for the next Thursday. Luke had forgotten about it in his frustration, but realized it anew when the diner was empty at 6 o'clock. He hated himself for how he had been lately. He was yelling at the customers right and left. Only the faithful waited out Luke's funk. In Luke's head, thoughts swirled around until they were muddled and ran together. He thought about Lorelai all day long. He dreamed about her at night. They needed to talk, that was the only clear idea remaining. Irritated with himself, he threw his rag across the room. _She will be at the meeting. You need to go. The two of you need to talk. You need to make things right with Lorelai._ With a determined step, Luke went up to his apartment and changed his shirt. Then, he locked up the diner and made the short trek to Miss Patty's.

Since Luke could see Patty's place from the diner, the jaunt was short and Luke had little time to think about what he was going to say or do when he confronted Lorelai. _Should I sit down next to her at the meeting and ask her to leave with me? Should I wait until the meeting is over and walk up to her? Should I just wait outside in the square for her? _Luke's thoughts were interrupted by Taylor's voice echoing off the walls in the room. He hesitated at the door and looked down at his watch. _It's 6:50. I'm ten minutes early. Don't the meetings usual start at seven? _Luke nearly pressed his ear to the door to listen to the events inside.

"Well, now we must go to the matter at hand before any of the two parties walk in. Lorelai is more likely to come in than Luke, and late I might add, but we can't take any chances. This is the whole reason we set the time so early. Kirk put the charts up…Thank you. Now, I open the floor to any thoughts about how we are to deal with this ongoing feud between Lorelai and Luke. Babette…"

_I can't believe it. I cannot believe it. That damn Taylor actually set up a meeting about Lorelai and I. That is none of his business! _

"I think the sooner the two of them shack up, the better for all of us."

"Honey," Miss Patty responded, "I couldn't agree with you more. The sexual tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I bet Luke could use some action."

"You said it, Pat" Babette agreed, and the crowd broke out in excited chatter. Behind the door, Luke fumed. He couldn't believe the town had made everything so public. It had to be Taylor's idea.

"People, people, people," Taylor said, trying to calm the crowd down. "Let's stick to the agenda here. Babette, if I understood correct, thinks it would be best for Luke and Lorelai to, let's see, how do I put this nicely, to know each other in the biblical sense."

"Just say sex, Taylor," Luke heard Gypsy interrupt, "It's creepy when you bring the Bible into it."

"Okay, fine. I, however, disagree with you Babette. If Luke actually makes his move and he and Lorelai begin to date, it will be good for awhile. But, the relationship will go sour, as Lorelai's relationships always do, and we, as a town, will be forced to choose between them."

"What do you mean, Taylor?" Kirk asked.

"Does no one remember Fay Wellington and Art Brush?" The people in the studio murmured. Luke was about fed up. He was certain his face was red and steam was coming out of his ears. _THAT is IT! _With a huff, Luke opened the door to the studio and the crowd instantly became silent and faced him. Then, he gave Taylor and the rest of the crazy town a piece of his mind…

* * *

Lorelai strolled through town, taking the long way that would allow her to avoid Luke's. She was already a few minutes late to the meeting, why bother walking faster? She had been avoiding Luke for two weeks now; eating breakfast at Weston's, mooching off Sookie for lunch, and choosing between Al's and JoJo's for dinner. She reverted to her pre-Sookie's wedding routes around town, avoiding all the paths that crossed by Luke's. Lorelai really wanted to stay home that night, but she had promised Rory that she would stay up to date with town events. She was expected to give a full report of the crazy antics that would certainly be present at town meetings. It was odd to approach Miss Patty's and see the back door slightly open. Inside, she heard yelling. One voice was Taylor, the other…_Luke? _She crouched behind the door to decipher the source of all the commotion.

"Taylor, why in God's name do you think you have the right to shove your nose right into other people's business? I am sick and tired of you, the whole lot of you."

"Now, Luke, please calm down so we can speak about this rationally. This little feud of yours is affecting the economy of the entire town. Kirk, turn to the first chart." Lorelai heard a crash, and a whimper from Kirk. Luke was really pissed off. She rarely saw him this mad.

"I don't give a damn about your stupid charts. I don't give a damn about your stupid economy. I don't give a damn about your stupid little town meetings. What I do give a damn about is my friendship with Lorelai. That's it! You have no right to discuss this in some public forum. What goes on between Lorelai and I is our business. You hear that Taylor, OUR BUSINESS! Hers and mine. That's it, no Taylor, or Babette, or Patty, or Gypsy. Lorelai and ME!" Lorelai heard footsteps on the wood floor and she sneaked away from the door.

"Luke, I'm going to have to bill you for the ruined charts."

"Taylor," Luke said in an unnerving voice," You can take the bill and those charts, and SHOVE 'EM UP YOUR ASS!"

Luke stormed out the door and nearly collided with a shocked Lorelai. They both looked each other in the eye for the first time since Lorelai had avoided him outside the diner the week before.

"We need to talk." They both said at the same time. The whole situation was comical, with Luke's anger and them running into each other like this. Lorelai was in no mood to laugh, however. She followed him to the diner. He walked quickly in front of her with long, heavy strides. She almost had to run to keep up. Running was not an easy feat in her heels.

* * *

They entered the diner and Luke made his way up the stairs. Lorelai, unsure of what else to do, obediently followed. Luke opened the door to his apartment and made a quick sweep of the room. Jess appeared to be gone.

"What was going in there?" Lorelai asked, slightly nervous to be with Luke, alone in his apartment.

"That asshole decided to hold a meeting without telling us to discuss our little feud in front of the entire town." Luke was still slightly steamed and he took deep breaths and walked over to his refrigerator. He pulled out two beers and thrust one into Lorelai's hand. He took a long swig and Lorelai put hers down on the table by the couch. She didn't feel like drinking right now. She couldn't handle anything resting in her hands.

"Ah, so they think we are fighting again?"

"Oh yes, they assumed that we were in a fight. Damn that Taylor." He took another long swallow in an attempt to soothe his nerves, active from both the fight and seeing Lorelai for the first time in two weeks.

"Are we fighting?" she asked, striving to find a way to talk to him. The fire in his eyes started to flicker out and he looked at her.

"I don't really know what's going on."

"Me neither." She admitted. Luke audibly exhaled and took off his cap. There were so many things he needed to say to her. He didn't know where to begin.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" He said, a little sharper then he intended.

"Excuse me?" she asked, slightly hurt by his tone. She knew he was still mad about his Taylor encounter, but he didn't have to take it out on her.

"I haven't seen you in over two weeks. You looked through the diner window and completely blew me off."

"I'm sorry, was I the one that went fishing the morning after our almo-…whatever!" She was getting frustrated now. Luke's bad mood was making her tense.

"Our almost what, Lorelai. You can't even say it! How in the hell are we supposed to talk about what happened when you can't even admit it to yourself."

"I am not incapable of saying, Luke!" she stated, her voice raising in volume with each word. She didn't know why she was so mad all of a sudden. "You want to hear it out loud? FINE! We almost kissed. There! Why are you so pissy about it?"

"Why did you avoid me for two weeks when I wanted to talk to you?" Luke wasn't sure why he and Lorelai were yelling back and forth to each other. He knew he had started it with his foul mood, but this bickering made no sense.

"Oh, and I was supposed to break that code, Samuel Morse? You made no effort, you didn't seek me out. I was at home every night this week. I was at work everyday. You could've called. You could've stopped by."

"Do you honestly expect me to do that when you never came by the diner? Couldn't leave you a message because you would probably erase it."

"I did come by the diner, but you were fishing. FISHING! You were avoiding me before I even avoided you." Her blue eyes were ablaze and she made over exaggerated gestures as she spoke loudly. Luke, in the midst of all the angry words, had never found her more beautiful, more sexy than he did right then. That thought both turned him on and freaked him out.

"Don't you think I wanted to talk to you but didn't know what to say? This is us, Lorelai! We can't go into a discussion like this lightly. We have always been friends. What we almost did would've crossed that line."

"You think I don't know that. You think I didn't agonize over that fact for over two weeks." Lorelai's voice cracked as she tried to let Luke into her thoughts. She usually only cried when she was mad. Luke's words were having that effect on her now. _We shouldn't be talking about this right now when we are both pissed of. We need to be calm and rational._ "We can't talk about this now. I should go."

Lorelai turned toward the door and reached for the handle. Thingsseemed to move in slow motion as she turned the knob and pulled the door open. Suddenly, Luke's hand moved near her head and pushed the door closed, his strength doubling hers. _What's going on in his head?_

"What the hell do you want from me, Luke?" She asked, turning around. Without warning, Luke's rough and calloused hands grabbed her face and he pressed his lips on hers, kissing her with all the tension and sexual frustration that fused inside of him. For the first time in her life, Lorelai's mind stopped working. She was kissing Luke! She wrapped her arms around him, almost frightened by the intense spark that came from his lips and into her body. As quickly as the kiss began, Luke broke it off, breathing heavy. Lorelai was speechless.

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. I don't know what-" Luke was cut off by Lorelai's lips on his, this kiss softer. He wrapped his arms around her, one hand weaving his fingers in her curls. This was nothing like he expected, but everything he had ever wanted. He deepened the kiss slowly as he continued to explore the wonder that was Lorelai's soft lips. They broke a part after a few moments, saying nothing. Lorelai rested her forehead on his cheek, both of them panting for air. Luke's arm was still around her waist, the other was caressing her hair. She held him tight, never wanting to let go. Then, her mind awoke, thoughts running a mile a minute.

_You just kissed Luke. Whoa, that was amazing. I can't even compare it to anything else. That was so intense. It feels so good to be in his arms, to have his hand in my hair. _Fear gripped her heart then. _What are you doing, Lorelai. You haven't thought this through completely. You don't even know if this is a good move. Kissing Luke may have been great, but was it the right thing to do? _Her thoughts began to get hazy and she backed away from Luke. His face looked just as scared, intense, and joyful as she felt. Confusion flashed in his eyes as she continued to walk backward, attempting to find her way out the door. One notion was clear in her head; _RUN!_

"I should go," she said, her voice wavering. She found the knob with her hand and opened it fast, before Luke had time to stop her again. When Luke found his voice, he called out to her. She was already running down the stairs.

Luke's thoughts were jumbled and he felt a gigantic mix of emotions as he watched her leave. He was practically shaking as the realization of what had just transpired sunk in. _I kissed Lorelai! I did it! No interruptions this time. It was better then I ever could've imagined. _Luke was confused by her sudden flight. He knew she was scared. Hell, the kiss scared him too. He needed to see her. He needed to know what was going on inside her head. Before he even realized what he was doing, Luke opened his door and ran after Lorelai.

* * *

**A/N: Well, what do you think? Did you enjoy it? Did it suck? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it everything you imagined? Did you hate it? Let me know. You know I shower the love on all my reviewers.**

**This may be to your dismay, but I decided to end this story after one more chapter. I like the flow of this story and I don't want to go beyond having Lorelai and Luke get together. Also, I got one confused reviewer so I thought there might be more of you out there….Lorelai got the burn scar on her hand from when she touched the hot coffee pot the night they were drinking. Just wanted to clear that up.**

**You guys are still the epitome of awesomeness. Finals are quickly approaching, but I will try my best to update as soon as possible. After this story is done, I want to write more, but I need to come up with some ideas. I'll have to barter with those muses some more for inspiration. Until later, or, as we say in the desert, WATER! J/K. Desert humor.**


	8. Broken Heels, Don Bovi, and the Blue Cap

**A/N: OMGoodness! I FINALLY finished. Holy schnikes, I'm so sorry. That took forever. I wrote one 5 chapter fic, and started another fic before I even finished this one. I owe everyone a cookie or something. Anyway, I dedicate this chapter to lots of people. First, my cousin, LindzMcBimbo, who read and reviewed my story. I love you, Escuela! Then, gilmoreaddict and her boyfriend. Then..gah, there's just too many of you. Okay, I dedicate it to all readers and reviewers. I'm up to 100 reviews now. Awoohoo! I would be the worst Oscar accepter. Now, on with the conclusion…**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Broken Heels, Don Bovi, and the Infamous Blue Cap**

Luke took the stairs two at a time, nearly missing the last one. Once he reached the tile floor in the storeroom, he heard the diner bell ring. _Damn! _He couldn't quite process his thoughts yet, he just knew that he couldn't let her get away. Not yet. Not until they could talk about everything without getting angry or kissing, Not until they could both confront their fears. Not until he could apologize, if need be. _That's another thing. Do I even need to apologize? I mean, yeah, I acted on an impulse for once. I even threw myself off guard by kissing her. But, I broke it off. She's the one that kissed me back. Why did she run, then? _

Tearing through the curtain and dodging tables, Luke reached the front door of the diner and threw it open. The bell sounded, but it was muffled in his ears. He set a quick pace, fast enough that he would catch up with her, but slow enough that he didn't appear too desperate. _Might as well give her a head start._ Luke turned the corner and almost ran full force into his nephew.

"Jeez, Luke, "Jess exclaimed, but didn't stop walking. Luke turned around to watch him open the door to the diner and decided to call out to him. Jess turned around with a slightly irritated, 'no one understands me,' teenager expression.

"Did you happen to see Lorelai walk by?"

"Nope."

"Thanks," Luke answered gruffly and went back to the task at hand. He couldn't decide if he wanted to take a short-cut and meet her at her house, or take the normal way and meet her at some point. Feeling as if he had reached a fork on the road, he paused right in front of Miss Patty's. The meeting was still going on; it really hadn't been that long since his blowout. _Who knew that ten minutes could seem like an hour? _Making up his mind, Luke cut through some bushes, and made his way to the Gilmore home.

* * *

By force of recent habit, Lorelai took the long way home, walking as fast as she could in her heels. _I'm not running. I just need some space to clear my head. I'm NOT running! _She didn't know why she had to try so hard to convince herself. She was running. She let herself stop thinking for a minute and she scared herself. She acted on impulse and now she was terrified. Lorelai practically couldn't walk straight, her steps were uneven. She was on the verge of tears, but she didn't know why. _Oh my God, oh my God! You kissed Luke! You kissssssssed Luke! You didn't think this through. You don't know what this means. You don't even know where this is going to lead. You don't even know what he is thinking. Okay, he kissed me first. But, that could've been a fluke, right? I mean, maybe it's my perfume. Sniff, nope didn't wear any today. Um, or your clothes. That's it! Luke kissed you because you look hot, not because he likes you. Oh boy, maybe he doesn't like me. Wait, am I admitting to liking him? Whoa, whoa hoss. Do I like Luke?_

Lorelai's thoughts were interrupted when her heel caught in a crack on the street and broke. The action sent her hurdling to the ground and she scraped her elbow on the asphalt. _Ouch! Ooooo, my shoe. My pretty, pretty shoe. I remember when I bought this shoe. It was just sitting there in Neiman Marcus, the fluorescent light shining down at the perfect angle…and..I just had to haaaaavvvveee it! ­_The more she thought about her shoe, the more the tears trickled down her face. _Great, and now you are sitting in the middle of the street, crying. God, you are pathetic. _The pressure of the day and the past two weeks finally came down on Lorelai. She was tired, stressed, scared, lonely, and overwhelmed with her thoughts about Luke. She wasn't crying about the shoe anymore, that was certain. So, she sat in the middle of the Plum Street and had a good cry, broken heel still weaved in her fingers that furiously wiped away tears.

* * *

Luke wasn't surprised when he beat Lorelai to her house. He did take the short cut, after all. But now, as he stood in front of the Gilmore home, he was suddenly uncertain. He didn't know what his next move should be. _I could go inside, but that might scare her to death and would result in me being thrown out. Maybe I'll just wait outside. _

Luke made his way over to the steps and sat down. Taking off his cap, he ran his fingers though his hair, resting his head in his hands. _What am I doing here? What possessed me to go after her? I guess I should probably think about an answer to that before Lorelai gets here. _Stopping to sit caused him to think more and more about what had just taken place. He had kissed Lorelai and she had kissed him back. He liked the way she fit in his arms, the way her hair felt laced in his fingers, He was haunted by the way it felt to have her lips pressed against his, how it felt when he had deepened the kiss. Thinking or dreaming about kissing Lorelai was one thing. Now that it had actually happened, it would be hard to get the feeling out of his head. It would be difficult to forget if they mutually decided to dismiss the kiss. _What am I doing? _He mused once more.

* * *

Lorelai came around the corner, wiping her nose on the corner of her shirt. It didn't really matter that she just used her clothing as a Kleenex; it wasn't like she was going to see anyone. She was barefoot, carefully avoiding pointy rocks on the ground in front of her. Her shoes, including the broken heel, rested loosely in her right hand as she swung them back and forth. She needed that emotional break down on Plum. She was just thankful that most of the town was in the meeting still and didn't see her display of gut-wrenching weeping. _Okay, maybe it wasn't gut-wrenching, but it certainly felt that way. I feel asphalt-y. I should take a shower when I get home._

The sight waiting for her when she passed the last house and crossed her driveway was enough to rock her socks. That is, if she was wearing socks. Lucas Danes, man of Stars Hollow, diner owner who had just kissed her, was waiting for her on her porch. He sat on the steps with his head in his hands. His blue cap was off, resting on his knee. If she didn't know any better, it would look like Luke was talking to himself. Maybe he was. He heard her step in the dry grass and looked up. _Man, he has good hearing. _

"Of all the gin joints…" Lorelai muttered under her breath, in basic disbelief that Luke was sitting on her front steps. The last time she remembered seeing Luke in that position was when he delivered her beautiful chuppah. Very different situation now.

"Hey," Luke said, his expression mimicking a child whose hand was caught in the cookie jar. Luke still wondered if this was a good idea.

"Uh, hey yourself. What…what are you doing here?" Lorelai's voice was shaky. She couldn't even imagine how bad she looked. Her eyes felt puffy and she could almost guarantee that mascara dripped under her lashes.

"We need to talk." Luke stated. This was not going the way he planned. All the conversations he rehearsed in his head were whisked away when he caught sight of Lorelai. She had been crying. He hated to think that he was the reason.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the understatement of the century," Lorelai sighed. _That sounded harsh. Calm down, Lorelai. _"Sorry. Um, you beat me." She brought her arms up, crossing them at her middle. Luke stood up, now only a few feet away from her, his hat abandoned on the grass. He looked like he didn't know what to do with his hands.

"Cut through some bushes. I wanted to talk to you and I didn't want to wait another two weeks."

"Are you trying to imply something?"

"No, I just want to have a conversation with you without fighting or, uh, other distractions."

That shut Lorelai up. There were about a thousand scenarios going through her head at that moment. Thousands of conversations. Thousands of actions. Thousands of decisions they could make.

"How can we talk about it when you can't even admit what happened to yourself?" she slightly mocked, twisting Luke's words from earlier. She didn't know why she was acting so bratty. Luke was not the one who ran. "Sorry again. I'm in a weird mood." Lorelai turned her head to look down at her bare feet. They were filthy. Luke followed her gaze and noticed the broken heel and the elbow scrape for the first time.

"What happened to your elbow?"

"Stupid heel broke in a stupid crack in the stupid street and I fell."

"You're bleeding."

"I'm fine."

"Let me see it," Luke asked, coming closer to her. She felt like a child who thought that having Mommy look at her wound would make her hurt more. She caught Luke's eye; it oozed concern. Reluctantly, she held out her elbow, feeling her lip jet out and act in pouting mode. Luke touched her elbow with his fingers, lightly bringing it up so he could see. Luke softly brushed away the dirt and asphalt remains. He let go, hands roaming his pockets, searching for something, anything, that he could give to Lorelai to help her clean up. Finally, reaching for his back pocket, he found a rag. A clean one at that. _How long has that been sticking out of my pocket? Jeez, that's embarrassing. _Luke left Lorelai for a moment to wet the rag with the hose then returned to her side. Lorelai hadn't moved, she only watched him. A mixture of nerves and deep desire overwhelmed her for a moment. Luke was taking care of her. Luke had always taken care of her. Luke cared for her. Did she care for Luke?

* * *

"_OOOHH, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE. OOOOHHOOHH LIVIN' ON A PRAYER-EHER." Lorelai belted walking up the stairs to Luke's apartment. Luke walked behind her, making sure she didn't fall backwards in her drunken stupor. She stumbled and sang at the top of the lungs, elbowing Luke hard every time she didn't hear him singing. Luke wasn't doing much better himself. Granted, he wasn't quite as drunk as Lorelai, but he was almost there. He found himself stumbling every time she jabbed him. _

_As they reached the top step, Lorelai gripped his arm, pulling down his shoulder, almost causing both of them to crumble. Luke shifted his weight to remain steady while Lorelai wrapped her arms around his middle for support. She giggled and Luke laughed with relief. She didn't let go and Luke attempted to open the door. Lorelai continued singing._

"_TAKE MY HAND, WE'LL MAGGEIT I SWEAR. OHOOOH LIVIN' ON A PRAYER-EHER." She paused, looking right into Luke's eyes, "Lukie, you stopped singin'."_

"_Don't call me that." He was having a hard time turning the knob and pulling it open at the same time._

"_Come on, you make a good Bon Dovi. Haha, I mean Don Bovi. Which one is it?"_

"_Don't remember. Could you let go for sec?"_

"_I leggo, I fall. Ground is painful. Wow. Drunk sentences are sporadic."_

"_Leave it to you to say sporadic when you're drunk."_

"_Haha, you said sporadic."_

"_Not drunk enough to know why that was funny." Luke finally got the twist and pull mechanism down and the door flung open, almost knocking them over again. The victory of the moment inspired Lorelai to sing some more._

"_OOH WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!" Luke took a few steps into the room, which took longer than normal because of his buzz and the added weight of Lorelai. Jess appeared from behind the wall looking groggy. He scratched his head and smirked a bit. His straight-forward uncle and his friend's mother were very drunk and very loud._

"_Jeez, do you think you could keep it down."_

"_Oh, come on Thess," Lorelai spoke up and slurred out, "Haha, Thess," then she giggled, thinking 'Thess' was the funniest thing in the world. Luke also found 'Thess' humorous and chuckled._

"_I'm going back to bed. Don't do anything dirty. I'm in the next room"_

"_Thess is such a party pooper. Dirty stuff, HA. What is Thess talkin' bout? WHA'CHU TALKIN' 'BOUT, WILLIS/" She yelled into the next room. Jess snorted. Luke deposited Lorelai on the couch then felt himself fall and sink in next to her._

"_No idea. Thess never makes sense to me," he breathed out. In the back of his mind, he had an idea about what Jess was talking about. Something about downstairs. Something about Jess interrupting something downstairs. Something about he and Lorelai doing something downstairs. Stupid alcohol. He couldn't even remember what happened an hour ago. He rolled to face Lorelai. Her face made a grimace. "What?"_

"_You're on my hand." Luke quickly rolled off her hand and she brought it up, examining it._

"_Lemme see it." She held it out, sticking out her lower lip, "This is the same one you burned." He remarked, trying to remember how he knew that she burned it._

"_Oh yesh, that's the one. Thanks for reminding me." They were both a drunken mess._

"_You need burn cream," he stated, surprisingly logical, "And, you're not drivin' home. Stay here, I'll seep on the couch."_

"_Haha, you just said seep."_

"_No, I said seep." Lorelai giggled, "Jeez," he exclaimed and got up. He scratched his forehead and made his way into the bathroom, opening and slamming drawers and cupboards until he found what resembled burn cream. He came back to the couch with the cream and a flannel shirt and sweats._

"_Aw, what's this?" Lorelai asked, examining the blue flannel._

"_You don't want to sleep in your dress, do you?" Lorelai patted her arms. Wasn't she wearing flannel earlier? Couldn't remember. Must've taken it off. Her brain was fuzzy. She stood up and grabbed the sweat pants from Luke's hands, putting them on under her dress. Luke's reactions were delayed and forgot to look away. Lorelai struggled with her zipper in the back. "Zip please."_

"_It is zipped."_

"_Ha, I mean unzip." Luke did as he was told, trying to ignore the fact that he was looking at Lorelai's bra. He racked his brain, trying to think of what had happened before. He couldn't place a finger on it. They played a drinking game. That's all he could think of. She shimmied out of the straps and Luke handed her the flannel and turned away. She managed to make her fingers work the buttons, and then pulled her bra out of her sleeve._

"_Done!" She announced. Luke turned back to her and noticed the bra in her hand. Jeez, he thought. "Pulled it out of my sleeve," she stated, even though Luke didn't really want to know. Well, maybe he did, but he wasn't going to admit it._

"_You amaze me sometimes."_

"_Thanks. Wow. Flannel equals soft."_

"_Give me your hand." This inspired Lorelai to sing again._

"_I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAAA-UH-AND. I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!" Luke squirted out the cream and rubbed it on the burn. Lorelai burst into another song. "SHE LOVES YOU YEAH YEAH YEAAAAAH YEAH."_

"_Get into bed," Luke commanded._

"_HEY JUDE, I'M NOT REALLY TIRED.TAKE A SAD SONG AND MAKE IT, UH, HAPPY." She belted, adding her own lyrics. Luke placed his hand on her back and led her to his bed._

"_Yes, you are. It's 3 AM." Luke insisted. He pulled down the covers._

"_LET IT BE, LET IT be, Let IT be, let it be." She sang, each 'let it be," became softer as she yawned. _

"_See."_

"_Yeah, yeah. Shut your mouth." She got into Luke's bed and Luke pulled the covers up to her neck. She snuggled down on to the pillow. "We all live in uh ello uberene." She sang softly with another yawn._

"_Goodnight, Ringo."_

"_Ha, he was the drummer." Luke walked over to the couch after he turned out the light. He could already feel the sleep hitting his eyes. He took off his shirt. "Luke?" Lorelai called out._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Um, do you, uh, think you could sleep on the bed with me tonight? I don't wanna sleep alone." _

"_We won't fit."_

"_I don't take up much room. Please." Luke relented, unsure as to why. She scooted all the way over to the edge, lying on her side. Luke got in. He was too tired to argue. He pulled the covers up and turned to face away from her. He was surprised when he felt her lips on his cheek. He turned around, trying to make out her expression in the dark._

"_Thanks Luke. Thanks for everything. I just wanted to say this while I was in my drunken clarity mode, before I forget." She turned away from him. Luke was still slightly stunned. _

"_That's why I'm here," Luke stated in a whisper, not sure if she heard. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. He got up and placed the trash can next to her side of the bed. Just in case…_

* * *

Luke stepped closer to her now, rag in hand, and pressed it against her elbow. It was cool. Lorelai shivered.

"Cold?"

"Yeah," she stated, trying to not to let him see how much his touch affected her. Lorelai took the rag from Luke and slowly made her way over to the stairs. Luke's eyes followed her, watched as she took a seat. She looked up at him and gave him a feeble smile. Then she patted the wood next to her and Luke joined her on the step. She was ready now.

"So…" Lorelai said, not sure where to begin. They had a lot of ground to cover.

"So…" Luke responded. Lorelai sucked in a breath.

"We k-kissed," she managed to spit out. The corners of her lips turned up. She looked in the general direction of his face, but she couldn't look in his eyes. Not yet.

"Yes we did."

"It was…well…uh…unexpected."

"Definitely not how I expected tonight to go."

"Me neither." They were quiet for a few minutes. Both mentally grasped for words. Luke shifted uncomfortably. Lorelai moved the rag away from her elbow and examined her scrape.

"Listen," Luke began, taking a deep breath, "This doesn't have to be a big deal. I acted on an impulse. From your reaction, it probably was the wrong impulse. We can…we can just forget this, uh, ever happened. I'd be okay with that."

Lorelai was a little shocked by what he said. He sounded almost bitter. Like he knew he couldn't just forget the kiss. Like he could foresee how awkward their friendship would be after their decision. And that's not what Lorelai wanted to happen. Everything she had been denying for weeks, even years suddenly entered her thoughts like a flash flood. Ever since the night she walked into the diner for a cup of coffee, so many things about their friendship had been questioned. They wouldn't be able to stay on this course much longer. Since that night, every touch, every word, every action, every 'almost kiss,' and every actual kiss was leading somewhere. Somewhere Lorelai wasn't sure she wanted to go before. But now…now maybe that's exactly where she wanted to be. Luke cared for her, and since the kiss, she wouldn't be able to hide her newfound feelings for him much longer. _There! I finally admitted it to myself. I have feelings for Luke. No big deal, right? Um, no…it is a big deal. Now what do I say?_

"I don't want to forget it," Lorelai practically whispered. She lifted her chin, allowing herself to search for his eyes in the dark for the first time. She wanted to read his expression. Luke's gaze met hers. Blue staring into blue. He looked…stunned.

"What?" he asked softly, his voice low and gruff.

"I don't want to forget that it ever happened," she repeated, "It was a great kiss."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Definitely epic proportions. I would go as far as saying it made the 'Princess Bride,' list, but that might be overkill."

"Possibly," Luke responded, trying not to let his face show the pure elation in his heart. He would let out a 'yay' but it would probably be very weird and highly inappropriate.

"What are you thinking?" Lorelai didn't realize how very corny and Relationship Barbie that question sounded, until it was already out of her mouth. _Open mouth, insert foot. _

"I'm thinking that I'm…relieved."

"Good."

"Very good," Luke smiled. She liked it when he smiled. It was a side of him she rarely got to see, but always enjoyed immensely. Playful, a little cocky. She grinned back. Her hand got a mind of its own, like it had many times over the past few weeks, and found Luke's. The contact with his skin made her tingle and instantly warmed her inside. Lorelai looked down at their hands. Their fingers were laced together like an intricate pattern. It sounded corny in her own head, but she was amazed how well her hand fit into his. When Lorelai looked up again, Luke was still staring at her.

"What?"

"This…us."

"Yeah," was all she could say.

"I just want you to know that I've given this, you and me, a lot of thought."

"Have you?" Lorelai teased. So had she. If she had been watching this scene on a romantic movie night with Rory, they would have mocked and laughed all the way through. But, now that it was about her, now that she was getting ready to cross boundaries with the man she considered to be one of her best friends, nothing was cheesy. Cheese was just something you put on crackers. This was something so much more. Lorelai couldn't even find the words to describe it, and she had always been a verbal person.

"I'm not going into this lightly."

"And what is 'this?'"

"Us."

"You mean dating?"

"Something like that." Lorelai grinned. She never found monosyllable Luke more adorable. "You aren't the only one who's scared," he continued," We're going to have to work on it everyday. But this…this could be good. Very good."

"I concur."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Lorelai now felt very shy around him. She knew that he knew she wasn't Wonder Woman. For the first time in her life, she didn't care about how she appeared in front of Luke. She could just be Lorelai. It was weird, but it felt good. Luke's hand suddenly grazed her face. She looked up into his eyes, his expression was serious. He let go of her hand, bringing his into her hair. Lorelai closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his hands on her. She could feel his hot breath so close to his lips. He pressed his to hers slowly, softly, and deliberately. Lorelai leaned into the kiss, deepening it. It started out so light, but she started to feel the passion ooze out of all their pores. This was it. They crossed the line.

In the distance, Lorelai thought she heard singing. A woman's voice, a jazzy piece. Her head felt so fuzzy from the kiss that she was going to blame it on her imagination. Then Luke broke apart. His hand had traveled from her hair to her back, and then to her waist. While they explored their lips, Luke tried to memorize her curves. Lorelai tried to remember every feeling. Luke kept his forehead pressed to hers.

"Do you hear singing?"

"Thank God, you heard it too. I thought I was losing my mind." They separated their heads, and Luke craned his neck, searching for the source of the music. Then Lorelai gasped, she could hear the voice coming closer. "It's Babette!"

"Jeez."

"My God, there are eyes everywhere! She's going to have a hay day when she sees us."

"If she sees us," Luke stated logically, the playful grin back.

"Ooo, I like if. Let's go inside." She grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him up. She led him through the door and into her living room as fast as possible. Lorelai seemed unsure what to do next. They were in her house, very near to her bedroom. No daughters, no nephews. And, they were dating…She left Luke's side and practically dove under her desk, frantically pulling cords, phone and otherwise, from the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?" Luke asked, his expression was full of utter confusion.

"I don't want anymore distractions," she said, holding her hand for Luke to pull her up off the ground. He silently agreed. She was at his side again. "We always get interrupted." Luke only looked confused a few seconds more, and then he raised an eyebrow. He knew what she was getting at now. Lorelai wanted to go onto the next step.

"Are you sure? Are we-" But he was interrupted by Lorelai's lips pressed against his, hard. She broke apart fast.

"I said I didn't want any interruptions."

"Okay," Luke said, and pulled her into his arms. This was it.

* * *

Outside, Babette and Morey walked passed their neighbor's home. Babette was singing "Love Is Here to Stay," in true Ella fashion. Morey added scats and percussion noises at appropriate moments. They noticed nothing amiss at Lorelai's house, so they kept walking. The blue baseball cap sat where it had been abandoned in the dry grass.

* * *

The next morning Babette was up early, taking in the sunlight and rubbing her hands across her soft robe. 'Independence Inn,' was scrawled on the left side. It had been a Christmas gift from Lorelai. She had presented it to her after Babette had raved about the robes at the Bracebridge Dinner. _What a sugar!_

Opening the front door of her house stepping outside, she caught a whiff of the morning air. Summer sweet. She meandered down the steps and reached down to grab the paper. Something blue caught her eye from the distance. She glanced over to Lorelai's lawn. She hadn't been mistaken; there was definitely something blue on her lawn. Ever curious, Babette crept over to get a closer look. It was a baseball cap. A blue and very familiar hat. She gasped as realization hit her. _Oh my God, it's Luke's hat! Gotta call Patty!_

Babette frantically ran into the house. "MOREY, I'M COMIN' IN!" She found the phone and dialed the number she knew so well.

"Patty, it's me. Sugar, you'll never guess what I found outside Lorelai's house…Luke's hat!...I know, I know…I'll meet you at the diner in ten minutes. We need to see if he's there."

* * *

In Lorelai's room, two new lovers woke up to a new day. Arms wrapped around each other. Legs tangled under the sheets. Her head rested on his bare chest. They didn't know what to expect in the future. Just for a little while, they wanted to live for the moment. Luke knew he should probably call Jess to open up the diner. He should get dressed and go do his job. He couldn't bring himself to leave her presence. Lorelai would want coffee soon. Then, Luke would get up.

* * *

**A/N: Well, well, well. What did you think? Honestly. It's corny, I'll be the first to admit it. I never intended this story to go so long. In my head, it started out as a one-shot. It lasted 8 WHOLE CHAPTERS! Jeez Louise. Well, as Rory said recently, "Eight is Great."**

**I'd love your feedback. Reviews…Favorite parts…Favorite lines…Least favorite parts or lines…Complaints about my overuse of ellipses…J/K, I'll stop with all the dots. Personally, I liked Chapters 2 and 7 the best, 3 the worse. The line that still makes me laugh is good ol' Gypsy when she says, "Just say sex, Taylor. It's creepy when you bring the Bible into it." Maybe it's funny to me because I can so picture her saying it. I'll will eternally have "Livin' on a Prayer," stuck in my head, thanks to this story. Although, a few minutes ago I started whistling "Wonder Boy," by Tenacious D. Probably becasue of my title. Hmm, gotta love Jack Black.**

**Thanks for all being great readers and reviewers. You guys are like sliced bread. The cat's meow. Be sure to check out my other stories. **


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